Canadiens host Red Wings on October 10 - 14 points apart

Jack_Fan already flagged the caveat, so I'll dig a bit deeper into what the tables actually say. Montréal's 106 points from 82 games works out to roughly 1.29 points per night, with a plus-27 goal difference (283-256). Detroit? 92 points but minus-17 (241-258). That's a club winning 41 times yet getting outscored over the season, which usually means their wins come in tight, one-goal games. Depends how you count it, but that profile screams "dangerous in close ones, poor at protecting leads the other way." For me the moneyline on Montréal is the cleanest angle given home ice and the talent gap, though I'd want the price short enough not to wreck the value. The puck line is where I hesitate, Detroit stealing single-goal results is exactly the sort of thing that burns -1.5 tickets. Total: lean under-ish, since the Wings' games historically run tighter than the Habs' 283-goal attack suggests.

Anyone else remember when this matchup meant the Forum shaking? Wings in red always stole a few at the old barn, 41 wins says that habit didn't die. 🙂

First game of the season at the Bell Centre and I got chills just thinking about it 🔥 yeah the table says we should roll Detroit, but them stealing 41 wins has me sweating a bit tbh. Heart says Montréal moneyline all night, no debate, you just know the boys come out flying in front of a home crowd. Ah well, nowt to do but wait for puck drop 💪🙌

41 wins for Detroit keeps me off the juice. Puck line Montréal at the bookie is where the value sits, and I want the confirmed starter before touching it. 💸

Nobody's mentioned the schedule angle yet - Montréal's got Buffalo at home the next night and Washington after that, so the opener might see them manage minutes with a big week ahead. I still lean Montréal moneyline, but small stake, and same as JackBeliever I'm waiting on the confirmed starter in both creases before I put a single loonie down. Detroit stole plenty of games with 41 wins, my bankroll remembers 💸

Harry's schedule point is the one I keep circling back to, honestly. Three games in five nights right out of the gate, with Buffalo the next evening, means Martin St. Louis-type management of minutes is a live possibility, and that flattens the on-paper gap more than anything Detroit does. My table has Montréal's 283-goal offence carrying them over a Wings side that finished minus-17 in differential, but the 41 wins is a fair caveat, that's a team that knows how to pinch a road night. Small sample though, one October game tells us almost nothing about either club's true level. So my lean: Montréal moneyline at a modest stake, skip the puck line until we see the confirmed starters in crease, and I'd leave the total alone entirely since neither side's season shape is knowable yet. If the home side lines up a backup while Detroit rolls its number one, the juice flips and JackBeliever's value argument dies with it. Context matters here more than the table does.