Game 7 between the Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins gives us a nice hockey betting value opportunity.  Not content with having knocked the Presidents’ Cup winning Washington Capitals out of the playoffs, the Habs now have the defending Stanley Cup champions on the ropes.  Montreal had the fewest points of any playoff team heading into the postseason, but here they are one win away from playing in the Conference Finals.  Tonight’s game goes at 4:05 PM Pacific from Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS. MONTREAL CANADIENS:

So what happened to the Montreal Canadiens?  Have they been possessed by the spirits of “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Maurice Richard, Toe Blake and Jacques Plante?  After losing a 6-3 decision to Pittsburgh in Game 1 its been nothing but close hard fought games since then.  Jaroslav Halek is playing out of his mind and since the opening game loss the Habs have allowed only 10 goals in 5 games.  Michael Cammalleri, who came over from Calgary in the offseason, has been Montreal’s offensive catalyst scoring six goals in six games.

Montreal clearly has an edge in net given Halek’s current form over the inconsistent Marc-Andre Fleury.  Fleury has always had problems when opponents create a lot of traffic in front of the net, and that’s exactly what Montreal has been doing.  He allowed 4 goals on 25 shots in Game 6 and that simply isn’t going to get it done in the playoffs.

The Canadiens have a legit shot at winning this game, and at the price there’s no reason not to back them here.  At +215, theoretical breakeven is just over 31%.  Visiting teams in NHL Game 7′s have won 39% of the time overall, and in the Conference Semifinals have won 48.3% of the time.  That’s an overlay, baby.  All of the pressure is on Pittsburgh here, and if Montreal can keep the game close with the same tenacious defense they’ve been playing all series they’ve got a good chance of pulling the upset.  At this price, they’re definitely the play.  Victoire pour le Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge!!!

PLAY MONTREAL +215 OVER PITTSBURGH