NHL Monday best bets: Golden Knights to pounce on Canadiens

We are coming off a disappointing Saturday card. Although the Predators pulled off the plus money upset at home against the Maple Leafs, both player props lost to give us a down night.

Kyle Connor and Jakob Chychrun fell one shot shy of glory while combining to miss the net eight times. The process was good, but the results weren't.

We'll look to get back on the horse and put together a winning card for a surprisingly large Monday slate.

The Kraken love themselves some unders. Despite rocky goaltending at times, Seattle has gone below a 6.5 total in seven of nine games this season.

The club ranks closer to the bottom of the league in expected goal generation. Skilled winger Andre Burakovsky's long-term injury won't help matters.

I don't see the Kraken as a team that can outscore shortcomings in goal at the best of times. Without Burakovsky, they should be even more determined to lock things down and keep games as uneventful as possible.

The Lightning aren't likely to have a problem with that. Without Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes, the Bolts have little interest in playing run-and-gun hockey. Tampa Bay wants to make life as easy as possible for Jonas Johansson, who has held up surprisingly well thus far.

I'm not expecting the Lightning to generate a ton on this slow, structured Kraken team. Conversely, Seattle is struggling mightily to score at even strength, and Tampa has spent less time shorthanded than any team. This isn't a spot where offense should come easy to the Kraken.

Bet: Under 6.5 (-115)

The Canadiens are off to a solid 5-2-1 start, but I'm not buying what they're selling. Their early success appears to be smoke and mirrors.

Montreal has allowed 2.96 expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five, ranking 30th in the league. That's translated to only 1.20 goals allowed per 60 minutes.

The Canadiens also spend more time shorthanded per game than any NHL club and possess atrocious defensive metrics while undermanned.

Jake Allen is great and all, but Montreal needs to be drastically better to stay afloat when he and his teammates come back down to earth.

A road date with the Golden Knights is a good spot for that to happen. Vegas is showing no sign of a Stanley Cup hangover, winning eight of nine games thus far and claiming at least a point in each.

Jack Eichel is firing on all cylinders, William Karlsson looks rejuvenated, Shea Theodore is performing like one of the best offensive defensemen in the league, and the team is getting good goaltending.

I think the Golden Knights will outplay the Canadiens at five-on-five, and they have a big special teams advantage to boot.

Vegas should be able to snap Montreal's mini-winning streak and pick up a victory inside 60 minutes.

Bet: Golden Knights in regulation (-145)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @ToddCordell.

Copyright (C) 2023 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.