Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens, NHL forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with every score and the time left. Above the line favors MTL; hover for each play.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Panthers- Mackie SamoskevichGoals1
- Seth JonesAssists1
- Mackie SamoskevichPoints1
Canadiens- Nick SuzukiGoals2
- Lane HutsonAssists3
- Lane HutsonPoints3
Scoring summary
- OT0:29Nick Suzuki Goal (25) Wrap-around, assists: Cole Caufield (30), Lane Hutson (57)2–3
- P319:51Nick Suzuki Goal (24) Backhand, assists: Lane Hutson (56), Juraj Slafkovský (30)2–2
- P218:47Mackie Samoskevich Goal (14) Snap Shot, assists: Seth Jones (23)2–1
- P110:37Niko Mikkola Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: Anton Lundell (27)1–1
- P14:43Josh Anderson Goal (14) Tip-In, assists: Kaiden Guhle (11), Lane Hutson (55)0–1
Turning points
The 5 plays that swung the win chance most, each judged at its own moment: the chance with the score just before it against just after.
- P14:43Josh Anderson Goal (14) Tip-In, assists: Kaiden Guhle (11), Lane Hutson (55)FLA 0 – 1 MTL · MTL 40% → 56% +15MTL 40% → 56%+15 pts
- P110:37Niko Mikkola Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: Anton Lundell (27)FLA 1 – 1 MTL · FLA 43% → 59% +16FLA 43% → 59%+16 pts
- P218:47Mackie Samoskevich Goal (14) Snap Shot, assists: Seth Jones (23)FLA 2 – 1 MTL · FLA 56% → 78% +22FLA 56% → 78%+22 pts
- P319:51Nick Suzuki Goal (24) Backhand, assists: Lane Hutson (56), Juraj Slafkovský (30)FLA 2 – 2 MTL · MTL <1% → 49% +49MTL <1% → 49%+49 pts
- OT0:29Nick Suzuki Goal (25) Wrap-around, assists: Cole Caufield (30), Lane Hutson (57)FLA 2 – 3 MTL · MTL 47% → 90% +42MTL 47% → 90%+42 pts
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Panthers 60%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: NHL favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 56.4% of 1,035 graded games.
- Market
- FLA 60%
- ML FLA -165 / MTL +140
- Pre-line forecast
- FLA 56%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- FLA 54%
- Ratings vs. market
- −6.0 pts
- FLA: Elo 53.9%, market 59.9%
- Fair odds
- FLA -149
- MTL +149 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- FLA 3.0 – 2.5 MTL
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 5.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | FLA | MTL | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1559 | 1471 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +35 | Worth 35 Elo in the NHL |
| Starting goalies | −29 | −4 | FLA: Vitek Vanecek: team allows 0.72 more goals than with its usual starter (≈31 weighted starts) · MTL: Sam Montembeault: team allows 0.10 more goals than with its usual starter (≈42 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | FLA +27 Elo | FLA 53.9% | |
| Market-implied ratings | FLA 56.9% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | FLA 56.3% | 20% Elo, 80% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | FLA 59.9% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Overtime and shootout losses count as losses in these records. Shot share is a team's share of the shots on goal in its games. PDO adds shooting and save percentages: far from 100 tends to even out.
| FLA | Stat | MTL |
|---|---|---|
| 12th of 323.2 | Goals scored | 3.015th of 32 |
| 9th of 322.7 | Goals allowed | 3.427th of 32 |
| 8th of 32+0.5 | Margin | −0.425th of 32 |
| 2nd of 3254.4% | Shot share | 47.3%29th of 32 |
| 10th of 3290.6% | Save percentage | 89.1%28th of 32 |
| 14th of 325–5 | Last 10 | 4–620th of 32 |
| 7th of 3219–16 | Road vs home | 18–1717th of 32 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  FLA |  MTL |
|---|---|---|
| Puck line | 33–40 | 42–31 |
| Last 10 | 1–9 | 7–3 |
| Favorite | 25–37 | 1–8 |
| Underdog | 8–3 | 41–23 |
| Overs–unders | 35–38 | 41–32 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 4–6 | 8–2 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
FLA 3–4 MTL in their last 7 meetings; the forecast called 4 of 7.