Montreal Canadiens vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, NHL Odds
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Jeremy Perry
They get a chance to bounce back on Thursday when they travel to face off the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Blue Jackets have won two out of their last three games, but they were on a five-game losing streak before that stretch. It’s been an underwhelming year for Columbus, who had higher hopes after the offseason signing of Johnny Gaudreau.
As we get set for Thursday’s affair, which of these two teams will come away with another win here?
Canadiens vs. Blue Jackets NHL Betting Odds
Montreal is 4-1 in their last five games when going up against teams in the Eastern Conference but are just 8-21 against teams from the Metropolitan Division. They haven’t fared well in this series, though, as the Canadiens have lost their last five matchups against the Blue Jackets.
Taking a look at the Blue Jackets, they are just 2-6 in their last eight games overall and 1-4 against teams from the Atlantic Division. Over has been a good bet with them of late as it’s cashed in four straight against East foes 9-1-1 record in their past 11 games played on Thursday.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal has been below average on both sides of the ice this season, which isn’t a surprise. This was one of the worst teams in the NHL last season.
Offensively, they’ve scored a total of just 48 goals, a stat that ranks them 21st in the league. The power play has been equally as bad as the team has scored just seven times out of their 45 total power play attempts, good enough for a 15 percent conversion rate. At some point, the offense will need to pick it up a little bit if they want to climb the standings.
As for the goaltending, that sides of things has been decent at best. Jake Allen is expected to get another start here against Columbus but he’s just 5-6-0 on the year with a 3.29 GAA and a .901 save percentage on the year. He’s been a big reason for them getting ranked 19th in the league in total goals allowed as a team.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Columbus faces the same issues that Montreal faces but worse. Their scoring is horrendous with just 43 total goals, planting them in 25th place among all teams. On top of that, they’ve scored just four goals out of their 38 power play attempts, 10 percent to be exact. Montreal’s numbers aren’t good in either category, yet they are better than the Blue Jackets are so far this season.
It gets worse on the other end. Their usual starter in the net, Elvis Merzlikins, is 2-5-0 on the year with a .864 save percentage and a 4.74 GAA. However, he suffered an injury in his last game, which could leave Daniil Tarasov or Joonas Korpisalo in the crease. Both of which have GAAs above 3.50. The Blue Jackets were supposed to be a hot team after the signing of Johnny Gaudreau, but nobody on this roster has even remotely stepped up.
