New Jersey Devils vs. Montreal Canadiens: NHL Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
The New Jersey Devils are close to punching their first ticket to the playoffs since 2012 and hope to further distance themselves from the ninth-place Florida Panthers when they visit the Bell Centre to take on the Canadiens.
Devils vs. Canadiens Betting Analysis
The Devils are coming off a 4-3 home win over the New York Islanders on Saturday in goalie Keith Kinkaid’s fifth straight start between the pipes. Cory Schneider will likely get the nod on Sunday which might not be great news for New Jersey bettors. The Devils are 0-11 straight up in their last 11 games with Schneider between the pipes.
New Jersey is 41-37 SU overall this season and five points up on Florida for the final wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’re 4-1 SU in their last five games and the over is 6-1 in their last seven contests.
Montreal lost 5-2 at Pittsburgh on Saturday night with backup goalie Antti Niemi getting the start. The Habs continue to try and play the spoiler role during the last week of the regular season. The Canadiens are 3-11 SU in their last 11 games and 28-50 SU on the campaign.
The over is 7-3 in the Habs’ last 10 matchups but just 35-41-2 on the year. Montreal is 5-1 in its last six games against New Jersey but the Devils won the last meeting (6-4) back in the first week of March.
About 67 percent of Sports Interaction customers are backing the Devils to win as -165 favourites while 100 percent expect the game to go over the 6-goal total.
New Jersey Devils
Taylor Hall is on the verge of being rewarded for his career-best season with his first trip to the postseason since joining the NHL in 2010. The flashy left winger piled up many points in his first seven years in the league but has yet to play a game in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Hall leads the Devils in goals with 36 and points with 88. He picked up two goals last night against the Islanders and has 10 points in his last five games.
Montreal Canadiens
Forward Brendan Gallagher assisted on both Montreal goals on Saturday against the Pens which pushed his season point total to a team-high 51. Jonathan Drouin’s first season with the Habs hasn’t gone as well as fans would have hoped when he was acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning, but six of his 43 points this season have come in the last five games.
