Canadiens vs Sharks: Prediction, Team News and Canadian Odds

San Jose plays its third game in four nights, after a shootout loss in Detroit and a 3-1 defeat in Toronto, and finishes the trip at the Bell Centre. Canadiens vs Sharks is a 7:00pm ET start on Tuesday 20 October.

How to watch

Regional listings can differ from the national one, and blackouts apply in parts of Canada. Our how to watch the NHL in Canada page sets out the options.

Canadiens vs Sharks odds

Moneyline prices from 3 Canadian sportsbooks, captured on 19 October. American odds throughout.

These are stored prices rather than live ones, and a hockey line moves the moment a starting goaltender is confirmed, so check before you bet. Availability varies by province: PlayAlberta is a provincial platform rather than open-market books, and the private sportsbooks operate where they hold a licence. Our NHL betting sites page sets out which operates where, and who is expected in net is on our projected NHL starting goalies page.

Montréal has finally settled its goaltending

The Canadiens are 4-3-1 and have won three of four, the last of them 4-3 in overtime against Buffalo on Saturday. Cole Caufield scored twice in that one, the winner 54 seconds into the extra period and unassisted.

Jacob Fowler has taken the job. He is 3-1-0 across four starts at a .900 and 2.16, against Jakub Dobeš’s .842 and 4.63. With Sam Montembeault on injured reserve, the results have settled the order.

The concern is the other end of the ice. Montréal has conceded 30 goals in eight games, more than it has scored. Ivan Demidov is out for two to four weeks with a lower-body injury the club confirmed itself.

How they compare

Montréal finished twenty points clear of San Jose last season and conceded half a goal a game less. The Sharks were the busier side at even strength and the leakier one overall, which is roughly how both have started this season too.

San Jose is on fumes and has been losing the close ones

The Sharks are 4-4-1 and every one of their four wins has been by a single goal. All four went past regulation. That is a side living on fine margins, and the margins have stopped falling their way.

Monday in Toronto was the pattern. San Jose led through Mason Marchment, then conceded two power-play goals and lost 3-1. Yaroslav Askarov took that start and is down to a .865 across six.

This is the third game in four nights and the last of a long road trip. Alexander Wennberg is day to day. Macklin Celebrini has eight assists in nine games and remains the one San Jose player a Canadian audience will recognise.

San Jose has won the last two, and leads the series comfortably

San Jose leads the all-time series 30 wins to 22 and has taken the last two, including 4-2 at the Bell Centre in March. Before that Montréal had won two in a row, both by a single goal.

The four most recent meetings produced 6, 12, 7 and 7 goals. Whatever else these two do to each other, they do not play 2-1 games.

Team news

Who starts in goal is an open question. San Jose has split its starts between Askarov (six, .865) and Nedeljkovic (three, .920), and Montréal between Fowler (four, .900) and Dobeš (four, .842). A save percentage is a season aggregate rather than a lineup, so treat either name as a possibility and not a plan.

Our NHL injury report tracks every other club.

Players to watch

Cole Caufield, Montréal. Two goals against Buffalo on Saturday, including the unassisted overtime winner 54 seconds in.

Macklin Celebrini, San Jose. Eight assists in nine games, and a goal and two assists in Detroit on Saturday.

Jacob Fowler, Montréal. A .900 across four starts on a side that has conceded 30 in eight. He is the reason the record is 4-3-1.

Score prediction

Montréal Canadiens 4-2 San Jose Sharks. Montréal is at home against a side playing a third game in four nights. The goaltending has swung the Canadiens’ way too.

Canadiens vs Sharks prediction

Montréal should win this. It has won three of four and Fowler has settled the net. San Jose arrives on a third game in four nights having lost the last two.

San Jose does have the series. The Sharks have won the last two meetings and lead the all-time record comfortably. Our lean: Montréal, and the over if the total sits at 6.5 or lower. The last four meetings produced 6, 12, 7 and 7 goals, and Montréal has conceded more than it has scored.

Our NHL power rankings has all 32 in order, and the rest of Tuesday’s games is on the NHL schedule.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Picks are opinion, not advice, and odds change constantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.