Jeremy Perry
November 27, 2017

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Montreal Canadiens: NHL Odds, Prediction

The win over the Sabres was fueled was by the return of star goaltender, Carey Price, who pitched a shutout. Was that an aberration or a new trend for the struggling Habs? We’ll find out when they host the red-hot Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday, who have won six straight.

Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date: Monday, November 27^th – 7:00 PM ET
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
NHL Odds: Blue Jackets -115

NHL Odds and Betting Analysis

The Blue Jackets have won five of their last seven meetings with the Canadiens, including a 2-1 win in overtime in Montreal on November 14^th. The Blue Jackets are a healthy 7-4 on the road this season. They play well as a road favorite as they have won seven of their eight road games when posted at EVEN or favored.

You might consider the under in this spot too. Under has cashed in seven of the Blue Jackets last eight games and is 6-1-1 in the Habs last eight.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets are 15-7-1 after a 5-2 win at home over Ottawa on Friday to running their winning streak to six. They haven’t been scoring a ton recently as they’ve totaled two goals or less in six of their last eight, but it has been enough because of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky.

Bobrovsky is again performing like an MVP candidate, leading the league in GAA at 1.91 and in save percentage at .936. He is a major reason why the Blue Jackets are third in goals against and fifth on the penalty kill. They rank 18^th in goals per game and 31^st on the power play, but Bobrovsky has been playing well enough to hold the fort down until the offense scores a timely goal.

Montreal has had issues at the offensive end, scoring just six goals in their last four games. They could have a tough time against Columbus’ stalwart back line on Monday.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens are 9-12-3 and they halted their losing skid at six with a 3-0 win at home over Buffalo. Carey Price was playing his first game since November 2^nd due to a lower-body injury, and he returned to the lineup to stop all 36 shots that he faced. Byron, Jeff Petry and Alex Galchenyuk scored in each period to give Price the support that he needed, and it was a win that the Canadiens needed because of their struggles as of late. During their five-game losing streak, the Canadiens were outscored 19-8, but maybe a healthy Price can spark them to make a run.

Price wasn’t playing well before his injury, posting a 4-7-1 record with a 3.44 GAA and a .890 save percentage, but this was his best performance of the season. Consider that Price had allowed at least three goals in eight of 11 starts prior to that and only twice this season had he posted a save percentage above .920. The Canadiens go as Price goes, so if he’s back to being a star, they can turn things around.

The Blue Jackets don’t score a lot, so if Montreal can turn this into a tight, low-scoring affair, they could pull this one out.