NFL Previews 
MLB Previews 
NBA Previews 
NHL Previews 
Soccer Previews 
Canadiens vs Blues Picks and Predictions – Saturday January 3, 2026
Montreal heads into Enterprise Center playing with real momentum and a profile that’s starting to look dangerous for bettors who keep pricing them like a middle-tier team. The Canadiens are 22-12-6, and the 7-5 win over Carolina wasn’t a fluke kind of game. They created offense, survived chaos, and still closed it out.
St. Louis is 16-18-8 and still trying to climb out of the West logjam. The Blues can play a heavy home game, they block and hit enough to disrupt rhythm, and they’ve shown they can win tight one-goal contests. Puck drop is 4:00 PM on ESPN+.
Montreal Canadiens vs St. Louis Blues Odds
These are the current betting lines, and bettors should keep monitoring the latest NHL odds for updates leading into puck drop.
| Team | Moneyline | Puck Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | -134 | -1.5 (+184) | 6.0 (See odds board) |
| St. Louis Blues | +112 | +1.5 (-236) | 6.0 (See odds board) |
Montreal Canadiens Betting Form
Montreal’s offense is the story. They’re top-tier in goals and assists for a reason: they generate looks off movement, they can score in transition, and they have enough finishing to turn a good period into two or three goals quickly. When the Canadiens get the game into a higher-event script, they’re very hard to price because they can outscore mistakes.
The betting concern is availability. Montreal’s injury list is not small, and if a few of those questionable names sit, the scoring depth changes and the power-play units can look different. That matters because a lot of Montreal’s edge comes from being able to keep pressure on you for four lines and then cash in on special teams.
For recent results and trends, use the Montreal Canadiens stats and results. Before betting, confirm who’s actually in with the Montreal Canadiens injury report.
St. Louis Blues Betting Form
St. Louis is still a team you have to handicap through its style. They can’t always win on pure skill, so they lean into physicality and disruption. The blocks and hits numbers aren’t cosmetic. When the Blues are playing their best, they’re making you work for the middle of the ice, turning your clean looks into point shots, then getting bodies in lanes.
At home, that approach can keep games within one and make their underdog puck line very playable. The problem is that if they take too many penalties or fall behind early, they don’t always have the pace to chase the game cleanly. That’s where they can get stuck in the neutral zone and end up trading low-quality chances.
For game logs and home splits, check the St. Louis Blues schedule and stats. Also make sure you verify availability on the St. Louis Blues injury report.
Montreal Canadiens vs St. Louis Blues Matchup Breakdown
At 5v5, Montreal wants pace. They want to turn retrievals into quick exits and force St. Louis to defend with speed rather than just structure. If Montreal is getting clean entries and playing in the offensive zone with layers, the Blues’ hit-and-block approach starts to look like survival instead of control.
St. Louis’ counter is to slow the game and drag Montreal into a grind. If the Blues can keep pucks on the wall, win net-front battles, and limit Montreal’s second chances, the underdog becomes live. The biggest swing factor is discipline. Montreal’s offense can break you, but St. Louis can keep it close if it stays mostly 5v5 and they don’t give away easy power plays.
Goaltending uncertainty matters here too, especially with a total sitting at 6.0. If either starter is unconfirmed, you have to price a wider outcome range, and that’s when I prefer leaning on side angles over forcing a total that can push.
Montreal Canadiens vs St. Louis Blues Predictions and Best Bets
I lean Montreal moneyline. The Canadiens have the cleaner offensive identity and more ways to score, and St. Louis is the kind of team that can keep it tight but still lose 4-2 if one period gets away from them. Montreal’s ability to create goals without needing perfect special teams is a big edge in a road favorite spot like this.
I’m not excited about Montreal -1.5 even at a plus price. St. Louis plays too many one-goal games as an underdog, and their style keeps the back door open late. If you like Montreal, the straight line is the better expression.
On the total, 6.0 feels like a number where I’d rather react live. Montreal can push the pace into an over, but St. Louis can also turn this into a 3-2 type of slog if they control the tempo. If I had to pick a side pregame, it’s Montreal to win, not a total that can land on six.
Best Bet: Canadiens ML (-134)
NHL Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
To build the rest of your Saturday card, start with the slate on NHL picks and compare matchup context through the NHL previews hub. That’s the fastest way to spot which games are likely to be penalty-driven and which ones are likely to be low-event.
For performance tracking, use the best handicappers page and validate short-run form on the leaderboard. If you want packaged plays, the buy picks page keeps it simple, and the Stanley Cup betting guide is useful if you’re thinking about how different teams win when games tighten up.
