Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils: NHL Odds, Prediction
It has been a mixed bag thus far for the Montreal Canadiens on a six-game road trip as they visit the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night in their lone trip there this season. This is the second of three meetings between the teams, with the Devils heading back to Montreal on April 1. That game will certainly be meaningless for the Canadiens, who are way out of the playoff chase. New Jersey, though, is currently the East’s top wild-card team.
Canadiens vs Devils Betting Analysis
On Dec. 14 at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens beat the Devils 2-1 in overtime. Tomas Plekanec, now with Toronto, scored at 1:52 of OT off a terrific feed from Charles Hudson. Andrew Shaw also scored from Montreal and Carey Price made 31 saves. Stefan Noesen had the goal for New Jersey, and Cory Schneider stopped 34 shots.
It likely will be Schneider in net Tuesday as he recently returned from a long injury absence. Price hasn’t played since Feb. 20 with a concussion and won’t here. He has resumed skating but didn’t accompany the team on the start of its road trip. Head coach Claude Julien did not rule out Price joining the team at some point during it.
Last year, Montreal played in New Jersey twice and won both, 3-1 and 4-3 in overtime. It was Al Montoya in net for each.
The Canadiens have won five straight in the series overall and five of their past six in Newark.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens (25-29-11) are 1-1 on the trip, winning 6-3 at the Islanders on Friday but falling 2-1 in overtime in Boston on Saturday. Montreal, just 9-19-3 away from home, was widely expected to move winger and third-leading scorer Max Pacioretty ahead of the Feb. 26 trade deadline, but no teams met the Canadiens’ high price tag. Now, Pacioretty is likely done for the season with a knee injury suffered against the Islanders. A hugely disappointing year for the 29-year-old American who has 17 goals and 20 assists. He only has two more points than he had goals last year. It’s possible that Pacioretty could get back near the end of the regular season, but what’s the point? Defenceman Victor Mete, however, is expected to miss six weeks with a fractured finger sustained Friday. The rookie has seven assists and is plus-5 in 49 games.
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey (33-25-8) is on a three-game losing streak after falling at home to Vegas on Sunday, 3-2 – the Devils have totaled just five goals in the skid. Schneider returned from a 16-game lower-body injury absence last Thursday in a loss at Florida and was back in there against the Golden Knights. Taylor Hall continued his red-hot play with a goal and an assist vs. Vegas. That’s 19 straight games with a point, tops in the NHL. Hall actually has a point in the last 25 games he has played, but he missed three with an injury so the league only recognizing the 19 in a row. Hall leads the Devils by a mile with 30 goals and 72 points.
