The Montreal Canadiens are riding high on top of the Atlantic Division following a convincing win over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. The offense is clicking, Jacob Fowler could make a case for both the Calder Trophy and Vezina Trophy, and their defense has been stingy enough to support their two biggest strengths. The Canadiens are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.
The Colorado Avalanche lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Ottawa Senators in their last game, but their biggest loss was Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar -- who were injured and forced to leave the game. Keeping both players off the ice suggests the injuries are serious enough to affect this matchup, whether they play or not. Both continued on the trip with their team instead of going back to Colorado, but they are game-time decisions.
It might be too easy to say both players are hurt so the Avalanche are going to lose -- but with the way the Canadiens are playing, I would’ve found it hard to bet against them even if Colorado had both of its superstars fully healthy. Let's back Montreal to continue its winning ways on Saturday night.
Avalanche vs Canadiens prediction: Montreal ML (-125) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
