Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
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Edgar Chaput
Columbus has been as pleasant a surprise through the first couple of weeks of the campaign. Even so, they failed to protect a lead against the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, losing 3-2 in overtime. Conversely, Montreal is mostly playing like many predicted. They suffered more misery on the same night when the Devils came to town and burned them 5-2.
The NHL odds have more faith in the hosts in this instance, with the Habs standing as -125 favourites on the moneyline (+180 on the puckline).
Blue Jackets vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
Neither club was very good last season, but the Canadiens got the better of the Blue Jackets twice in three tries during the regular campaign. The first and third matches saw a ton of goals scored. The Jackets won the first 6-4, and Montreal returned the favour 8-2. The middle contest was won by the Habs, 3-1.
Columbus appears to be an all-around decent side through six games. It’s not a ton of data to go on, but they’re playing better than last season. So far they’ve amassed a 3-3 ATS record. Of note, the Blue Jackets have covered three times as underdogs and failed to cover twice as favourites. Something to keep in mind?
Lo and behold, Montreal is also 3-3 ATS on the year. They’ve fared better when pegged as favourites, covering both times that was the case. Weirdly, Montreal has played twice at home on Tuesday nights and fallen 5-2 both times. They’ve also won 3-2 twice at home on Saturday nights. Let this game open the floodgates of Thursday night data!
Columbus Blue Jackets
Growing pains, growing pains. That’s arguably how Columbus can assess Tuesday’s defeat to the Ducks. Anaheim was virtually as poor as Columbus last season and hasn’t started brightly this year, yet the Jackets let victory slip through their hockey gloves.
On the plus side, the team looks pretty good when handling the puck and controlling play. There’s more cohesion to the offence this season. As such, the Blue Jackets are creating plenty of scoring opportunities. The problem is they can’t put the puck in the net often enough. With an incredible seven power plays, it’s not as if the Ducks weren’t keeping the door ajar for the Jackets to take care of business. Rookie Adam Fantilli is blossoming into a solid, productive player, as he netted his second of the campaign with a beauty of a wrister in the third period to make it 2-1 for the hosts.
Emil Bemstrom (first) opened the scoring on the power play in the first. But with barely three minutes left, they couldn’t hold onto the 2-1 advantage, then gave up the lion’s share of chances in overtime. Anaheim’s Frank Vatrano (fifth) did the honours on a breakaway.
RW Patrick Laine (upper body) is on IR but is expected to return soon.
Montreal Canadiens
Facing the New Jersey Devils is always a challenge for the Montreal Canadiens. Whether during the Martin Brodeur era or since they just don’t play the Devils well. Compounding the difficulty level was that goalie Cayden Primeau, third in the club’s line of netminders, made his first start of the season.
Things started well enough. In fact, Primeau himself made some excellent saves to give his team confidence. When Justin Barron (second) pounced on a juicy rebound from the left side of New Jersey’s net, there was reason to believe that perhaps Tuesday would be different. Not so. Montreal did themselves no favours, with more sloppy play that awarded the visitors when plenty of fantastic scoring opportunities. It was one of those nights when a first period Nico Hischier goal was disallowed for goalie interference, but he scored anyway later to make it a 3-1 game for the Devils. Former Hab Tyler Toffoli came, saw, and conquered with a hat trick. Make the final 5-2.
D David Savard (left hand) is on IR. D Kaiden Guhle is day-to-day.
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