Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers: Game preview, predictions and odds | December 28, 2024

The Montreal Canadiens are on the road to play the Florida Panthers on Saturday, Dec. 28, at 1 p.m. ET.

Montreal (14-17-3) is coming off a 5-4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Florida (22-12-2) is coming off a 4-0 shutout loss at home to Tampa Bay on the same day.

Montreal vs Florida: Head-to-head & key stats

• Montreal is 50-52-6-6 all-time against Florida
• The Canadiens are averaging 2.94 goals per game
• Florida is 10-6-1 at home
• Montreal is allowing 3.58 goals per game
• The Panthers are averaging 3.44 goals per game
• The Habs are 4-10-1 on the road
• Florida is allowing 3.11 goals per game

Canadiens vs Panthers: Preview

Montreal lost to Columbus before the break which snapped its three-game winning streak. The Canadiens are led by Nick Suzuki who has 35 points, Cole Caufield has 32 points and Lane Hutson has 26 points

The Habs will start Sam Montembeault who's 12-14-2 with a 2.94 GAA and a .900 SV%. In his career against Florida, Montembeault is 1-4-1 with a 4.72 GAA and a .880 SV5.

Florida, meanwhile, was shut out at home by Tampa Bay before the break. The Panthers are atop the Atlantic Division as Florida will start Sergei Bobrovsky who's 16-7-1 with a 2.80 GAA and a .895 SV%. In his career against Montreal, he's 16-7-1 with a 2.42 GAA and a .922 SV%.

The Panthers are led by Sam Reinhart who has 45 points, Matthew Tkachuk has 35 points, Aleksander Barkov has 33 points and Sam Bennett has 27 points.

Canadiens vs Panthers: Odds & Prediction

Montreal is a +260 underdog, while Florida is a -330 favorite, with the over/under set at 5.5 goals.

The Canadiens played well before the Holiday break as Montreal could be turning a corner. However, the Habs are on the road to play the reigning Stanley Cup champions on Saturday afternoon which is a tough spot.

The Panthers should be able to score on Montembeault, while Bobrovsky will shut the door as Florida will cruise to a big home win here.

Prediction: Florida 4, Montreal 2.

Canadiens vs Panthers: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Florida -1.5 (-122)

Tip 2: Over 5.5 goals (-142)