The Montreal Canadiens will be looking to bounce back from their first overtime loss of the post-season when they return to action on Tuesday night for Game 5 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs semifinal clash with the Vegas Golden Knights as heavy +200 road underdogs on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Canadiens followed up on a rather fortuitous victory in Game 3 with a solid performance in Game 4, outshooting Vegas by a 28-21 margin. However, Montreal saw its streak of four overtime wins in this year’s NHL playoffs come to an end on a Vegas goal by Quebec native Nicolas Roy early in the extra frame that leaves the series knotted at two games apiece going into Tuesday night’s matchup back at T-Mobile Arena.
Expected to be an easy opponent for the high-powered Golden Knights heading into this series, the Canadiens have consistently silenced the naysayers with a frustrating brand of defensive hockey. With Carey Price maintaining stellar form in the Canadiens’ crease, Montreal has effectively shut down the Vegas attack, surrendering just two goals per game over the past three contests.
But with Sunday’s loss the Canadiens have seen the recent gains they have made at the sportsbooks erased. With the series now a best-of-three and Vegas regaining home-ice advantage, the Canadiens have tumbled to +220 underdogs on the NHL playoff series prices and to +800 on the Stanley Cup odds. The team’s Game 4 defeat has also left Price stalled on the Conn Smythe Trophy odds, where he now trails the favourites as a +850 wager.
After successfully erasing a series deficit for the third time in as many rounds in this year’s playoffs, the Golden Knights return home on Tuesday as -240 Game 5 favourites at online betting sites. In addition to putting the team in the driver’s seat in this series, Sunday’s victory also vaulted Vegas up to +140 on the Stanley Cup odds. However, the Golden Knights still have work to do to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four seasons.
In addition to scoring just two goals in each of their past three outings, the Golden Knights have been limited to three or fewer goals in five of nine home dates during this postseason, and sport a 4-7 overall record when failing to score more than three times. Conversely, the Canadiens are 10-1 in their past 11 when surrendering three or fewer goals in these playoffs.
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