Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
The Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Bell Centre in Montreal Saturday afternoon for a matinee matchup with the Canadiens. The Canadiens dropped their first game under new head coach Martin St. Louis Thursday night extending their losing streak to six games. Columbus has won four of its last five games to get back to .500 at 22-22-1.
Blue Jackets vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
The Blue Jackets scored four goals in the first period on their way to beating the Canadiens 6-3 in their first meeting of the year back on Jan. 30. Patrik Laine had a pair of goals for Columbus, while goalie Samuel Montembeault was pulled after allowing three goals on seven shots for Montreal.
The Blue Jackets have beaten Montreal 18 of the 33 times they have played each other including four of their past five meetings. Montreal’s last win over Columbus was in November of 2019. The Columbus offence has come alive in the past five games, averaging 4.8 goals per game and helping them go 5-0 to the Over.
The Over is 9-1 in the Canadiens’ past 10 games, bumping them to 25-19 on the Over/Under this season. They have only covered the spread 18 times so far and are trying to do it tonight for the first time in five games.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jakub Voracek scored his second goal of the season just 16 seconds into overtime to beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Thursday night to keep the good times rolling for the hot Blue Jackets.
Meanwhile, Patrik Laine has put together his best five-game stretch since joining the Blue Jackets halfway through last season. He has scored six goals and recorded 10 points on his streak so far. Columbus will continue its five-game road trip with stop number four in Calgary Tuesday night.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens could not get a save from rookie goaltender Cayden Primeau in Thursday night’s 5-2 home loss to the Washington Capitals. The 22-year-old allowed four goals on 14 shots before getting replaced early in the second period. Fellow rookie Cole Caufield had better fortune, snapping a 17-game goalless drought with just his second snipe of the season.
In the post-game press conference, Caufield admitted that his new head coach, Martin St. Louis, was one of his favourite players growing up. Habs fans are hoping the new bench boss will turn Caufield’s lacklustre rookie season around before it’s too late.
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