Canadiens Odds: Why Montreal Can Win the Stanley Cup

Montreal Canadiens fans haven’t been this excited about their team since they hoisted the Stanley Cup in 1993. 

With some of the league’s best and most electric talent pulling the offensive strings, along with Jakub Dobeš resembling prime Carey Price, it’s easy to see why the buzz in Montreal has the nation taking notice.

Despite a blistering run that has them near the top of the Eastern Conference, the Canadiens’ Stanley Cup odds remain outside the top 10. While oddsmakers don’t rank the team among the elite, here’s why the Habs can win it all. 

Can the Montreal Canadiens Win the Stanley Cup? 

The Montreal Canadiens’ odds to win the Stanley Cup are +1100.

Facing the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs won’t faze the Canadiens, who are playing with the fearlessness that champions regularly embody. 

The Canadiens have the fifth-best points percentage (.717) since Jan. 27. 

Their 20-7-3 record in that time frame not only represents a snapshot of their dominance, but also proves they are a sustained juggernaut, playing consistently superb hockey. 

They have scored the seventh-most goals per game (3.47) while allowing the fifth-fewest (2.67).

The extended scorching streak has me wondering why Martin St. Louis isn’t the coach of the year favourite. 

The Canadiens, most tellingly, boast the fourth-best points percentage in one-goal games (.692) and are the fifth-best team when leading after the first period (6-0-1) in the aforementioned sample size. 

With an 11-3-0 record in the previous 14, the Habs are the hottest team entering the postseason, putting the league on notice. 

If you ask me, their hockey odds to win it all at the BetMGM online sportsbook, which represent a 3.85% probability, downplay the team’s exceptional on-ice product. 

Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki on Fire Entering Playoffs

Several top-tier players drive the Habs’ offensive bus, but Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are the key cogs. 

Suzuki has 101 points, one of eight players to hit the 100-point mark this season. Since the Olympic break, Suzuki has 36 points in 25 games (11 goals, 25 assists), tied for second with Connor McDavid, Martin Necas and Nikita Kucherov.

They’re four points behind Jack Hughes. 

Caufield has 51 goals, joining an elite club of six Canadiens to score at least 50. He’s the first Canadien to net 50 goals in 36 years, and he’s one behind Nathan MacKinnon in his quest to win the Rocket Richard Trophy. 

The 25-year-old scored 19 goals in 24 games since the Olympic break, three ahead of second-place Pavel Zacha. 

With unsurpassed chemistry, Caufield, Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovský form one of the most formidable first lines. 

Lane Hutson patrols the blue line as one of the best offensive defencemen, while Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen would be in the running for the Calder Trophy had it not been for Matthew Schaefer’s otherworldly rookie season. 

Can Jakub Dobeš Carry the Canadiens in Playoffs? 

Dobeš wasn’t the team’s No. 1 goaltender entering the season, with the Canadiens’ situation between the pipes garnering widespread skepticism. 

Dobeš took the reins and is the primary reason the Habs are a top-five team entering the postseason. 

He’s 10-4-0 since March 7, with a .924 save percentage and 2.27 goals-against average (GAA). The 24-year-old allowed two goals or fewer in nine of those 14 starts. 

His save percentage is the third-best, and his GAA is the second-best among goaltenders with at least nine starts in the previous 14 games.

The million-dollar question entering the postseason is whether Dobeš, who has started only two playoff games, can continue his Vezina-like form into the most pressure-packed stage of the campaign. 

If he does, the Habs have every chance of surprising the hockey world. However, while I believe this team will eventually win the Stanley Cup, it feels a few years premature. 

When Was the Last Time the Canadiens Won the Stanley Cup? 

The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1993, beating the Los Angeles Kings in five games. 

When Was the Last Time a Canadian Team Won the Stanley Cup? 

The Canadiens in 1993 were the last Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup. 

Canadiens’ Playoff History