Montreal Canadiens vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Picks and Prediction for Sunday, December 21, 2025
Use Code WWWC A pair of Eastern Conference teams looking to earn a victory collide on the ice in the Steel City when the Montreal Canadiens take on the Pittsburgh Penguins Sunday night in the back half of a home-and-home set and we have the inside scoop with our Canadiens vs. Penguins prediction. These teams met in Montreal on Saturday night in the front half of the home-and-home set. Montreal picked up a 4-1 home win over Chicago in their previous contest Thursday night. Pittsburgh fell 4-0 on the road against Ottawa in their previous game Thursday night. In the last 10 meetings between the teams, the Penguins own a 6-2-2 edge but the Canadiens picked up a 4-2 road win in the first meeting this season December 11. This article was published prior to the conclusion of the teams’ contest at the Bell Centre Saturday night. Read more about this Canadiens vs. Penguins prediction! Our NHL Predictions are sure to provide a great payout. Check them out!
Canadiens Battling in Tight Atlantic Division Race
Montreal had dropped three of their last four games before getting back in the win column against Chicago Thursday night at home. The Canadiens improved to 18-12-4 and stand tied for second in the Atlantic Division standings entering Saturday, one point behind Detroit for the top spot. Montreal stands tied for 8th in the league in offensive production with 3.18 goals per game on the season. The Canadiens are 28th in goals against as they allow an average of 3.41 goals per contest. Montreal is 6th in the league in power play success by cashing in 25.5% of their chances with the man advantage on the year. The Canadiens are 25th in penalty killing by successfully getting through 77.3% of their shorthanded situations this season.
Against Chicago, Montreal fell behind early but regrouped to take control of the contest en route to the win. The Canadiens owned a 7-4 advantage in shots in the opening period and skated off with the game tied at one after 20 minutes of play. After giving up the game’s opening goal, Montreal tied the game as Zack Bolduc scored his eighth goal of the season at 14:23 off assists from Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson. In the second period, the Canadiens held a 16-6 shot edge with neither side lighting the lamp, keeping the game tied at one at the second intermission. The third period saw Montreal with a 12-5 shot advantage and they outscored Chicago 3-0 to earn the win. Bolduc tallied his second goal of the game and ninth of the year 20 seconds into the period for a 2-1 Canadiens lead as Hutson and Nick Suzuki drew the assists. Noah Dobson made it 3-1 with his fifth goal of the year at 10:00 off assists from Ivan Demidov and Hutson. Suzuki closed the scoring with his 10th goal of the year, unassisted, at 16:29 of the stanza. Jakub Dobes made 14 saves for Montreal, who owned a 35-15 advantage in shots, in the win. With Jacob Fowler starting Saturday, Dobes (12-5-2, 2.91 GAA, .893 save percentage) is expected to start in goal here.
Key Injury Report for Canadiens:
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- Defenseman Kaiden Guhle (lower body) is out.
- Right wing Patrik Laine (core) is out.
- Center Alex Newhook (ankle) is out.
- Center Kirby Dach (foot) is out.
- Center Philip Danault (illness) is day-to-day.
Pittsburgh Hoping to Reverse Recent Struggles
Pittsburgh dropped their seventh straight game (0-3-4) as they were blanked on the road by Ottawa Thursday night in their previous contest. The Penguins entered Saturday 14-10-9 on the season and stood seventh in the Metropolitan Division, 10 points behind Carolina for the top spot. Pittsburgh is 12th in scoring as they average 3.12 goals per game on the season. The Penguins are average in their own end, ranking 17th in goals against by allowing 3.06 goals a night. Pittsburgh stands 3rd in the league in power play success as they convert 30.4% of their chances with the man advantage. The Penguins are 15th in penalty killing as they successfully navigate 81.2% of their shorthanded situations.
Against Ottawa, Pittsburgh was unable to solve Linus Ullmark and that proved to be their undoing as they took the loss. The Penguins owned an 8-7 advantage in shots in the opening period but trailed 1-0 on the scoreboard at the first intermission. Pittsburgh was outshot 12-4 in the second period and was outscored 2-0 in the stanza to trail 3-0 after 40 minutes of play. The Penguins owned a 13-7 advantage in shots in the final period but gave up the lone goal to wind up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. Arturs Silovs made 22 saves for Pittsburgh, who was outshot 26-25, in the loss. Silovs (4-5-6, 3.19 GAA, .890 save percentage, shutout) is expected to get the start in goal here.
Key Injury Report for Penguins:
- Left wing Filip Hallander (leg) is out.
- Left wing Tanner Howe (knee) is out.
- Defenseman Caleb Jones (lower body) is out.
- Center Blake Lizotte (upper body) is out.
- Center Evgeni Malkin (upper body) is out.
Canadiens vs. Penguins Pick
Canadiens vs. Penguins Moneyline Pick
- Canadiens -105 (4 units)
Both teams are playing their third game in four nights, which is always something to be concerned about at this stage of the year. Montreal downed Pittsburgh in this building 10 days ago as part of the Penguins’ seven-game slide. The Penguins have been awful in their own end of late and Silovs has struggled mightily in recent starts. Montreal did pick up a win Thursday to right the ship somewhat and they have a better goaltender between the pipes in this matchup. Until we see Pittsburgh actually slow an opposing team down, you have to fade them accordingly. Take the Canadiens in this contest.
Canadiens vs. Penguins Over/Under Pick
- Over 6.5 (4 units)
Montreal entered Saturday’s action having seen the over post a 21-10-3 mark in their 34 games on the season. The Canadiens have an average of 6.59 goals per game this season and that number slips slightly to 6.47 goals per game in their 15 road games on the year entering Saturday. Pittsburgh entered Saturday with the over posting a 16-13-4 mark on the year. The Penguins have an average total of 6.18 goals per game though that has climbed to 7.12 goals per game at home. Pittsburgh entered Saturday having allowed at least four goals in seven of their last 10 games, including six straight. That’s enough to take the over in this contest.
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