The Habs Finish Their Holiday Road Trip Today vs. The Stars

Despite yesterday’s loss, the Habs have had a solid road trip, going 3-1-2 in the first six games. No matter what happens today, the road trip can be seen as a success given the Havs played some tough opponents and will still finish above a .500 point percentage. Nonetheless, the Habs should still be very hungry to rebound after their most disappointing performance on this road trip. As a result, both teams will be hungry to get things back on the right track.

As the turnaround time for the Habs’ back-to-back games is less than 24 hours, there is no morning skate or practice, meaning we don’t have a clear answer about who will start in nets for the team, but it will likely be goaltender Samuel Montembeault, given the current 3-goalie rotation the team is running on this trip. Since Jakub Dobes played on Thursday, while Jacob Fowler played on Saturday, it’s only normal that Montembeault gets the start in today’s game based on the current order.

Not to mention after a terrible start to the season, Montembeault came from his mid-December AHL stint with a great performance on Tuesday, as he made 28 saves on 30 shots in a 3-2 win over his former team, the Florida Panthers. This game allowed him to stay in the rotation, but he will need to show that his game is back on track by putting 3-4 performances like that together before we can say that Montembeault is back and ready to play consistently with the Habs. Therefore, today’s game against one of the league’s most dangerous teams could be a great test for the Quebec native to prove he truly is gaining his confidence back.

As for the Stars, they will likely be going with one of the league’s best young netminders in Jake Oettinger. Oettinger looked shaky in his last start, where he stopped just 17 shots of the 21 he faced in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. With that being said, it will be interesting if the world-class goaltender bounces back or the struggles come into today’s game. Nonetheless, the Habs will need to come out strong if they expect to get a few pucks by him today.

In the last meeting with the Canadiens, the Stars dominated the majority of the game, and they handed the Habs their worst loss of the season in a 7-0 thrashing, where it was backup goaltender Casey DeSmith who got a 24-save shutout. While it will likely be Oettinger still, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Stars still turn to DeSmith given that he was the reason that the Habs didn’t score in the first period, before the skaters took over the entirety of the game afterwards. It should also be noted that this was the game that Habs forward Alex Newhook went down with a major ankle injury that has kept him out ever since.

With all this being said, the Habs are massive underdogs, given the fact they are on the 2nd half of a back-to-back and also their struggles against the Stars in their last meeting. The oddsmakers have the Habs as +160 road underdogs, which is great value if you think that they can overcome the trends for today’s game. Meanwhile, with a version of Montembeault that showed promise in his last game and the Habs likely tired from travelling, the Under 6.5 Goals Total may be a great bet for today’s game. Not to mention, the Stars’ netminders will likely keep it a low-scoring matchup, as it’s very rare that Oettinger has two bad games in a row, and DeSmith had the Habs’ number in their lone meeting this season.

In terms of player props, after not scoring in yesterday’s game and being snubbed from Team USA’s Olympic roster, Cole Caufield should be very hungry to get on the scoresheet in some fashion in today’s game. Expect him to be around the net a lot today. The odds for him to score a goal are set at +165, which for the Habs’ top sniper is very good value. Do you think he can come back big with a goal today?

It won’t be an easy game, but don’t count the Habs out yet, as they have played up to better opponents during this current road trip.

What are your predictions for this afternoon’s clash between the Canadiens and Stars?