Montreal at St. Louis

Montreal has played two games without captain Nick Suzuki, who led the club with 12 points in nine games before an upper-body injury put him out for two to four weeks. The Canadiens won 4-1 at Chicago and 2-1 at Winnipeg. Their defense was leaking before he left: Montreal allowed three or more goals in seven of the nine games he played. Counting overtime goals but not shootout goals, Montreal's 11 games have produced 70 goals, a combined 6.4 per game, and the Canadiens have scored four or more in five of them. St. Louis has played 11 as well, with the same 70 goals and the same 6.4. The Blues have also allowed three or more goals in seven of those 11. That makes this a meeting of two defenses with the same leak, and neither club has been playing games that finish quietly. With St. Louis scoring five or more in its 5-3, 7-2, and 6-2 wins, I'm playing the OVER tonight.