Previewing Tonight’s Canadiens vs. Blackhawks Matchup

Samuel Montembeault will get his 2nd start of the season and will be hoping to bounce back from a tough performance, where he was the 2nd best goaltender in a 5-2 loss on Wednesday, which allowed 3 goals on 25 shots against the Maple Leafs. He will look to prove to many fans that he truly is the Habs’ #1 goaltender, as his backup, Jakub Dobes, was stellar the next night in a winning effort, making 30 stops on 31 shots. Will Montembeault be able to lock in against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks tonight?

Despite being the much better team last year, the Canadiens lost both matchups against the Blackhawks, including a 4-2 loss against them in Chicago on January 3rd, 2025. As the best team on paper once again, the Habs must not take this up-and-coming Blackhawks team lightly and will need to put the pressure on, much like they did against the Red Wings.

One thing that the Canadiens will need to be better at as a whole is getting off to a good start to the game from the opening puck drop. The Habs struggled immensely early on in both their games so far in the regular season, and can’t continue to rely on making a comeback 5 minutes into every game if they want to win. It will be interesting to see how they come out tonight against the Blackhawks, who are another young, speedy team like themselves on the rise.

In terms of Habs players to watch in tonight’s game, include the Montreal Canadiens’ second line of Ivan Demidov-Oliver Kapanen-Alex Newhook. For Demidov, he opened his NHL career last April by wreaking havoc on the Blackhawks in his first ever period of hockey in the NHL with a goal and an assist, which the 19-year-old will be hoping to do again tonight. As for his centre, Oliver Kapanen, he has started the season scoring in back-to-back games and will be looking to stay hot in tonight’s matchup. Finally, the veteran of the line, Alex Newhook, will be dangerous, as with his mix of speed and smarts that he has shown alongside his rookie linemates, he will always be a threat to score or produce offense. 

Much like Kapanen, Zack Bolduc will be looking to increase his goal streak to 3 straight to start the season, as he continues his undeniable chemistry on a line with Brendan Gallagher again tonight. Their centre, Kirby Dach, has done enough not to hurt the line, but he hasn’t really been a factor as of yet. Could Dach find the back of the net against his old team?

Honestly, it’s nice having other lines other than the top line of Juraj Slafkovsky-Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield that can produce offense. Hopefully it continues again tonight.

One of the top recommended bets for tonight would likely be to wager on Over 6 goals to be scored, as the last 3 meetings between the two teams would show them scoring a total of 6+ goals. Not to mention, the Canadiens have seen 6+ goals scored in both their games this season. The Habs are listed as -170 road favorites in tonight’s matchup. A good option for a player prop bet would be a Cole Caufield goal that pays +160 tonight. Caufield rarely goes 3 straight games without a goal.

Do you think the Canadiens will have another strong performance against the Blackhawks tonight?