{"id":133333,"date":"2022-11-09T07:00:42","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T12:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=133333"},"modified":"2022-11-09T01:10:02","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T06:10:02","slug":"nhl-predictions-canadiens-canucks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2022\/11\/09\/nhl-predictions-canadiens-canucks\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: October 9th – Including Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to another day of NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are happening and gives our predictions for each one, breaking down head-to-head and other factors that may play in. We also have a featured game of the day, which is considered must-watch TV. Today\u2019s featured game is the Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens.<\/em><\/p>\n

NHL Predictions: Vancouver Canucks vs Montreal Canadiens<\/span><\/h2>\n

Carolina Hurricanes vs Florida Panthers<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Hurricanes 0 – 0 Panthers<\/h4>\n

Coming off of a tough loss, the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a> look to rebound offensively vs a Florida Panthers<\/a> team who has had a decent start to the year. The Panthers have not struggled to score this year as they’re averaging 3.22 games per game. Defensively they’ve improved under coach Paul Maurice<\/a> averaging 2.46 goals against per game.<\/p>\n

The Panthers and Hurricanes are extremely similar with an emphasis on possession as we see both teams having puck control 57% of the time, a league-high. They’re also similar in the sense that both teams have great goalies but have received only average goaltending that’s necessary for them to win games. The Panthers have been a very unlucky team maintaining -12.5 goals scored above expected. Once they start finishing and getting some luck, watch out. Due to their ability to shut teams down, Rod Brindamour<\/a> and his crew take this one.<\/p>\n

Hurricanes win 3-2<\/em><\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Penguins 0 – 0 Capitals<\/h4>\n

There’s no doubt these long-time rivals have not had the best start to the season, injuries have been a common theme among the two veteran squads. One can’t deny that Sidney Crosby<\/a> and Alex Ovechkin<\/a> never fail to keep us entertained. The Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> got off to a very hot start and then flipped a switch losing seven in a row. The Washington Capitals<\/a> haven’t been much different. They’ve struggled to put a small streak together and have been losing games they shouldn’t.<\/p>\n

Darcy Kuemper<\/a> has been a bright spot for Washington sitting on a .919 save percentage and 4.53 GSAX<\/a>. Tristan Jarry<\/a>, on the other hand, has been pretty rough showing signs of his glove slide woes coming back. Staying out of the box will be huge for the Penguins with Washington having a dominant top-10 powerplay. Ovechkin vs Crosby is a beautiful thing to watch so take it in while you can, you’re witnessing two of the greats.<\/p>\n

Capitals win 5-4<\/em><\/p>\n

Minnesota Wild vs Anaheim Ducks<\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head: Wild 0 – 0 Ducks<\/h4>\n

On the topic of disappointing teams, how about these two? Yikes. Part of the Minnesota Wild<\/a>‘s issues is goaltending. They’ve received some of the worst goaltending in the league between duo Marc Andre Fleury<\/a> and rookie Filip Gustavsson<\/a>. The Anaheim Ducks<\/a> have actually played some fun games for the first time in a few years due to their electric offence featuring the young guns.<\/p>\n

The issue for both teams is yeah, keeping the puck out of their own net and out of their own end in general. The Ducks allow a large number of high-danger goals against. While John Gibson<\/a> struggles against high-danger chances so this could be a big advantage point for Minnesota. An opponent like this is exactly what Minnesota needs. Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> can’t do everything for them so depth scoring in this one would provide a boost. That is, if Kaprizov even plays.<\/p>\n

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Kirill Kaprizov has received a match penalty for this play on Drew Doughty. pic.twitter.com\/Ry9dkcn8sj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 9, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n