Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
The Canadiens are -134 on the NHL odds with a total of 6.5 goals.
Blue Jackets vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
The NHL went dark on Friday but every day the rest of the regular season is chock full of action until it ends Wednesday. It’s going to be hockey heaven with so much still up for grabs in terms of playoff spots and seeding in both conferences. Note that this matchup is not part of Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada TV schedule.
Montreal is in the playoffs but still can finish anywhere from first to third in the Atlantic Division. The Canadiens close at the New York Islanders and at Philadelphia, two other teams fighting for extra hockey. The Blue Jackets’ season completely turned around when the team fired coach Dean Evason in mid-January and replaced him with Rick Bowness. But it’s not looking too good for extra hockey short of an upset here. Columbus closes at home vs. Boston and Washington.
Saturday is the third and final meeting between the clubs with each owning a one-goal home victory. Blueliner Lane Hutson (1G, 2A) leads the Canadiens with three points in the season series, but Cole Caufield is without a goal (one assist). Jakub Dobes was in net for both and has a 1.93 GAA and .918 SV in the two. A few guys lead Columbus with two points each, among them superstar defenceman Zach Werenski (1G, 1A). Jet Greaves was in net for both and stopped 47 of 52 shots.
In the past 10 meetings overall, Montreal is 8-2 and the over-under 5-5.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus has 90 points, four back of Ottawa for the East’s last wild-card spot. So it will take a ton of help at this point for extra hockey and in reality Thursday’s 5-0 loss in Buffalo probably ended things. But the team can jump back into third place in the Metropolitan Division with a win as well as a regulation loss from both the Flyers (92 points) and Islanders (91 points). Just don’t see both those results happening Saturday. The Jackets are slumping at the worst time, having dropped seven of eight. They are a bit banged up, which hasn’t helped. Jet Greaves starts in net tonight. The Cambridge, Ontario, native has had a nice season overall at 25-17-9 with a 2.61 GAAA, .908 SV and two shutouts but has dropped five of six. All-Star blueliner Zach Werenski enters two assists shy from becoming the first player in franchise history to record 60 assists in a season. He’s the -275 favourite to win the Norris Trophy.
Montreal Canadiens
Projected Montreal to beat visiting Tampa Bay by a score of 4-3 on Thursday, but the Habs won 2-1. So now they are sitting second in the Atlantic with 102 points, two behind Buffalo for the division title. But that victory was massive regardless because it dumped the Lightning to third in the Atlantic. So at worst, the Canadiens now control their destiny for home-ice advantage at least in Round 1 of the playoffs. Cole Caufield was able to score goal No. 50 in that win. Nick Suzuki enters tonight two points shy from becoming the first Montreal player to record 100 points in a season since Mats Naslund (110 in 1985-86). Suzuki is +135 for at least two in this one. Jakub Dobes has been confirmed in net. He’s 17-5-0 with a 2.50 GAA on home ice. He hasn’t personally lost anywhere since March 19 in Detroit.
CLB
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