Welcome back to NHL Predictions, March 20th edition! Each day, the Last Word On Hockey team will break down every game and give our NHL predictions for each game. This is the first slate of NHL Predictions for March 20th featuring the Vancouver Canucks vs. Montreal Canadiens. Be sure to check out the first and third slate of NHL Predictions, too.
NHL Predictions Including Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Carolina Hurricanes
Head-to-Head: Jackets 2 – 2 Hurricanes
The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Carolina Hurricanes are midway through four consecutive matchups between the two. Seth Jones opened the scoring in the team’s last meeting, recording his second goal of the season. Jones would also score his third of the season to push the Blue Jackets over the Red Wings in a 3-2 victory during the last minute of OT. It would be the fourth straight game for Columbus to need extra time, also being the Blue Jackets’ 18th one-goal game of the season.
Columbus’s record in those types of games is 9-2-7. The Blue Jackets started the game with a majority of the shots favouring 14 of the 18. The Hurricanes would gradually build their game in spurts to match with the Blue Jackets. Sebastian Aho, who leads the Hurricanes with 28 points, netted two goals in the loss to Columbus. Carolina stands tall with a record of 8-1-1 in their last ten games and only four points out of the first spot in the Central Division.
Prediction: Hurricanes win 4-2
Chicago Blackhawks vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Head-to-Head: Blackhawks 1 – 5 Lightning
The Chicago Blackhawks have a winning record of 14-12-5, which is good enough for a fourth spot in the Central Division. Chicago hovers over the Columbus Blue Jackets by two points and, with a record of 3-6-1 in their last ten, they may not claim that spot much longer. The Blackhawks have been up against much better teams lately and have been outscored 14-7 in their last three games. Tampa Bay Lightning leads the Central with 44 points and shares a tie for first in the NHL standings. The team is coming off a victory against the Blackhawks with a score of 4-2, Yanni Gourde scoring the game-winner. Victor Hedman continues his journey and collection of Norris Trophy votes as he leads the team in points with 29.
Prediction: Lightning win 3-2
Nashville Predators vs Florida Panthers
Head-to-Head: Predators 1 – 0 Panthers
Fifteen points separate the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators in the Central Division. Florida has a respectable 19-6-4 record on the season and is 6-2-2 in their last ten games. Aleksander Barkov leads his team in goal with 12, Jonathan Huberdeau leads in points with 35. Predators still linger onto any hope of making the playoffs this season as they pulled off an upset versus Florida 2-1 in their recent victory. It’s the start of a winning streak for the Predators and exactly what the team needs during desperate times of stringing wins together. Filip Forsberg leads his team goals, assists and points, scoring 10 and collecting 17 helpers. Another stellar performance from Juuse Saros is exactly what Nashville needs heading into tonight, his last game he stopped 40 out of 41 shots earning a phenomenal .976 save percentage.
Prediction: Florida wins 4-1
Dallas Stars vs Detroit Red Wings
Head-to-Head: Stars 2 – 1 Red Wings
The disappointment for the Dallas Stars continues, the team dropped their recent matchup versus Detroit Red Wings with a score of 3-2. In their last ten games played, Dallas falls to 3-4-3 with 25 points on the season. Jake Oettinger allowed three goals on 21 shots resulting in a .857 save percentage, the team’s defence was nothing spectacular. Joe Pavelski continues to lead his team with 27 points. However, he was held pointless in his last game. Robby Fabbri recorded his first natural hat trick in the defeat over Dallas, giving him nine goals on the season to lead the Red Wings in the category. The schedule is about to get rougher for Dallas and, if they can’t find ways to collect wins against the bottom-of-the-barrel teams, their hopes could die soon.
Prediction: Stars win 2-0
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Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens
Head-to-Head: Canucks 3 – 5 Canadiens
Tonight’s featured game consists of the Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens for that fourth spot in the North Division. Vancouver is trailing, but a recent comeback has made it close. They are looking for four straight road wins tonight as they visit the Canadiens, a team that remains winless in their nine overtime games this season. Montreal has the second least amount of wins in their division and sits just one point ahead of Vancouver. In Montreal’s last ten games played, they find themselves to a 4-2-4 record, averaging three goals and allowing up to two goals per game. Vancouver’s last ten games have been much more impressive. The team is 8-2-0, averaging 2.5 goals while giving up two goals per game.
Brock Boeser leads his team with 15 goals and 31 points, producing six assists over his last ten games. Thatcher Demko has been astounding for Vancouver this season, especially of late owning a .921 save percentage. Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Petry lead the Canadiens with 27 points on the season. Toffoli has been an A-plus addition for Montreal has two shorthanded goals on the season giving Montreal seven shorthanded markers to lead the league in that category. Tomas Tatar has been an assist machine lately, recording eight assists over his last 10 games for Montreal.
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The Montreal Canadiens defencemen Ben Chiarot will be out due to a hand injury. Vancouver will be without two players tonight, Elias Pettersson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury and Tanner Pearson is out with a lower-body injury.
Prediction: Canadiens win 4-1
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