Los Angeles Kings vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction, 12/7/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Los Angeles Kings vs Montreal Canadiens

Date: Thursday, December 7, 2023

Location: Bell Centre in Montreal, QC

TV: TSN

Odds/Point Spread: Kings (-205) Canadiens (+165)

The Montreal Canadiens (11-11-3) are hosting the Los Angeles Kings (15-4-3) at Bell Centre on Thursday. The moneyline on this game has Los Angeles at -205 while Montreal opens at +165. The betting total comes in at 7.

The Los Angeles Kings were on the winning side of the scoreboard with a 4-3 win against the Blue Jackets in their last outing. The Kings had a good offensive output in the win. While out there on the ice, they tallied a score on 4 out of the 39 shots they looked to score on. In addition, they had 2 power play opportunities but weren't able to convert one of them into a goal. Los Angeles amassed 2 penalty mins in this outing.

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At even strength, the Kings have conceded 43 goals while earning 70 themselves. Los Angeles Kings opponents have 69 power play opportunities (30th in pro hockey) and have notched 8 goals in those chances. When it comes to their scoring, the Los Angeles Kings have earned 85 goals (5th in pro hockey) for the season and have conceded 51. Los Angeles has taken 726 shots and has a shooting percentage of 11.7%. For the year, they have scored 33 points and their points percentage is sitting at .750. The Kings have had 591 shots taken against them and have a save percentage of .914. Los Angeles has accounted for 78 power play opportunities and they have scored 15 goals out of those tries, earning them a percentage of 19.23%.

The player in the crease for this game is Cam Talbot. In his professional hockey career, Talbot has compiled 234 quality starts and his quality starts rate is .547. His save percentage currently is at .914 in his 25,616 mins in the crease. Talbot has seen 13,047 shots taken against him and he has 11,926 saves. The opposition has racked up 1,121 goals versus Talbot in his pro hockey career and his goals against rate is 2.63. He has amassed a record of 229-160-37 and he started in 428 games. Talbot has played in 448 games during his hockey career.

In their last game, Montreal went up against the Kraken in an outing where the Canadiens got the win by a score of 4-2. They had 1 power play attempt in this game and scored 1 on that opportunity. The Canadiens earned 4 goals out of the 30 shots on goal they tried.

For the year, the Montreal Canadiens have accumulated 70 goals, 25 points, as well as a points percentage of .500. They have permitted 87 goals to be scored by way of 62 goals at even strength and 25 goals while they had less men on the ice. The Canadiens have tallied 54 goals at even strength and 16 goals (17th in pro hockey) while on the power play. They have recorded 90 power play chances and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 17.78%. Montreal has taken 711 shots (24th in the league) and has a shooting percentage of 9.85%, while allowing their opponents 847 shots. They have accumulated a penalty kill percentage of 73.40% on their opponents 94 power play chances, and their save percentage comes in at 89.7%.

On the other side of the ice you will find Sam Montembeault in the crease. Montembeault is the owner of a lifetime mark of 39-48-13 and has been in net for 114 contests. Montembeault's quality start rate is 49.0% and he has qualified for 48 quality starts in his pro career. He is sitting with 3,088 saves out of the 3,441 shots taken against him, giving him a percentage of .897. Teams are averaging 3.40 goals/game and he has allowed 353 goals in total. He has made the start in 98 games and has been on the ice for 6,222 minutes.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-205)

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