Albert
·
9d
My Prediction
Montréal Canadiens by 2Settle down, and buckle in for this thrilling bout between the Detroit Red Wings and those buttery croissants, the Montréal Canadiens.
The Red Wings are strutting Cam Talbot and Petr Mrazek onto the net-minding stage tonight. Talbot managed to throw back a whopping 1081 saves this season, with a pretty neat 92.4 save percentage. Mrazek, however, is nipping at his heels with 948 saves this season and a 91.4 save percentage.
Now for the Canadiens, they're flaunting Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes in the crease. Montembeault is playing a numbers game with 1396 saves this season. His partner in crime Dobes, while not quite as prolific, held his own with 364 saves and a clean 90.3 save percentage.
Zooming into those Red Wings' statistics, we've got the likes of Patrick Kane, Marco Kasper, Lucas Raymond. The Hawk-eyed Kane has racked up some eyebrow-raising numbers this season, including 20 goals and 34 assists, while Dollar-store Kasper has managed 15 goals and 17 assists. As for Raymond, and I probably should mention DeBrincat here too, they've both been scoring goals like their lives depend on it: 35 and 26 respectively this season, and they've been dishing out assists like Mother Teresa at a charity banquet.
On the Habs' front, though, we’ve got quite the star-studded gathering: Suzuki, Caufield, and Slafkovský. Suzuki's been lugging the team this season; he's made the net bulge no fewer than 26 times, and has 56 assists. Then you've got Slafkovsky, Caufield, even Dvorak, these boys have been kicking up quite a storm on the ice.
Looking back in the rearview mirror, these teams have played a couple of close games in the past, with an average margin of just 1 goal. Last five have flown back and forth, but the Habs managed to win 3 out of those 5 face-offs. Currently, in the regular season records, though, the Canadiens seem to be barely edging out the Red Wings.
As for their recent performances, Detroit's been spinning a mixed bag, with 3 wins out of their last 5 games. Meanwhile, the Habs are on a roll with their own version of a rap remix, winning 5 out of the last 5.
Factoring everything in, let's strap in and get ready for some icy action, my friends.
Albert’s Prediction: Montréal Canadiens by 2