Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils Prediction, NHL Odds
The Devils have the chance to improve to 6-0 at Prudential Center and could even surpass the Canadiens as the top dogs in the Eastern Conference. The Habs have picked up points in four straight despite dropping their Tuesday night game versus Philadelphia. At the same time, New Jersey is returning from a 1-3 Western road trip, looking to get back on track.
The NHL odds for this game have the Devils as a -150 favourite to win at home on Thursday, with the total sitting at an even six goals. Puck drop in Newark, NJ, is set for 7:00 PM EST.
Canadiens vs. Devils NHL Betting Odds
This will be the first of three meetings between these squads this season, and it will be a while until they see each other again, with a home-and-home back-to-back in April. The Devils swept their three-game series last year, hitting the OVER in a pair and covering a 1.5 spread twice. New Jersey’s top line featuring Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes tore the Habs apart last season, scoring seven (4G, 3A) and six points respectively in the series.
Montreal’s offence has been thriving so far, especially in the last five games, where they have hammered the over in each outing. They have scored four or more in each of those matchups and are now averaging 3.69 goals per game, second most in the NHL. The Habs’ past six games have been decided by a single goal; they only managed to cover once in that stretch and currently sit 4-9 ATS this season.
The Devils were off to a great start, winning eight in a row before the West Coast road trip, where they were outscored 18-11 in four games. They split on the OVER/UNDER and covered the spread just once, pushing their records to 6-6-1 O/U and 7-6 ATS. New Jersey’s offence is also buzzing, averaging the sixth most goals per game at 3.54.
Montreal Canadiens
A disaster of a first period led to an eventual 5-4 shootout loss for the Canadiens on Tuesday at home versus the Philadelphia Flyers. Samuel Montembeault allowed three goals on the first five shots of the game, giving the Habs a 3-0 deficit headed to the middle frame. Montreal’s young group proved to be resilient once again, getting a pair of goals from Kirby Dach and capitalizing on a pair of power-play goals to go ahead 4-3 into the third. The Flyers would score again in the third and eventually score the lone goal in the shootout to get the win.
With another tough start for Montembeault, the Habs will likely turn back to Jakub Dobes between the pipes. The rookie netminder has all but been given the reins as the team’s number one option, posting a 6-0 record with a 1.97 goals against average. His impressive start has him climbing up the NHL Futures board as a +1100 for the Calder Trophy (third favourite).
Fellow rookie stud Ivan Demidov had a goal and an assist in their last outing, putting him at 12 points (4G 8A) on the year. He is second for the Calder at +160.
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey ended their roadie in California with a back-to-back on Saturday versus the Kings and Sunday in Anaheim. After snapping a two-game skid in LA, they could not keep the momentum going against the Ducks on Sunday.
The game got away from them early, falling behind 2-0 in the first period and then 3-0 as they head to the third. Jack Hughes notched his 10th of the season to get it to 3-1 before the Ducks would ice it with an empty netter.
Hughes is having another great season with 16 points through 13 games. His current pace will set him at 101 points, which would be his first season in the triple digits. The NHL Futures board has the 24-year-old as the fifth-best odds for the Hart Trophy this season at +1200. Considering his injury was the downfall for the Devils last season, he may get extra votes, especially if New Jersey can keep first place in the Metropolitan.
Jersey’s special teams are top-tier early on with the fifth-best power-play and seventh penalty kill. Their opponents on Thursday tend to take a lot of penalties, so expect the man-advantage to play a big part.
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