NHL Picks: Montreal Canadians vs Atlanta Thrashers

Saturday, 22 December 2007

In a Saturday NHL Picks contest the Montreal Canadians travel south to take on the Atlanta Thrashers. The Canadians are hoping last season is a thing of the past as they missed the playoffs after losing an all or nothing last game of the year to the Toronto Maple Leafs. This season has turned out to be a bit up and down as they sit 13^th in the NHL in total points with a 17-12-0-5 mark but have won 3 of their last 4 games after losing 5 of 6. Long a staple of good goaltending, the Canadians have slipped to 13^th giving up an average of 2.68 goals per game. Their power play however is #1 as they are cashing in on 24.4% of their chances. They haven’t been able to kill off penalties all that effectively as they rank 25^th. The Habs have done well on the road this season going 11-6 but are still listed as a +100 underdog on the money line and +1.5/-260 on the puck line at BetOnline.com

The Atlanta Thrashers finished four points ahead of the Tampa Bay Lightning last season for their first Southeast Division title and their first-ever postseason berth. However, this season has not started out as they had hoped as they come in at only 16-17-0-1 putting them 26^th in the league for total points. It is their defense that seems to be the problem as they are dead last in the league giving up an average of 3.38 goals per game. The key to them winning this season is getting off to a good start as they have not lost a game this season leading after the first period of play. In addition, they ranked 1^st in the NHL in winning percentage when they finish a game where they out shot their opponent.

These two teams played earlier in the year with Atlanta winning at Montreal 3-2. That fact could spell trouble for the Montreal faithful as they are a woeful 4-12 ATS revenging a loss versus opponent this season. But all might not be lost as Montreal is 11-6 ATS in road games first half of the season this season.

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