Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils Prediction, Preview, and Odds

The Montreal Canadiens will go on the road and take on the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center. Montreal has a record of 23-29-4. New Jersey has a record of 37-14-5. Both of these teams faced each other once this season with New Jersey winning the matchup. The puck drops at 7 PM EST.

Canadiens Lose Two Straight

Montreal was a +335 underdog in their previous game and they lost 5-1 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Josh Anderson scored the lone goal. Jake Allen allowed five goals on 41 shots faced.

The offense has been poor for Montreal. The Habs rank 29 in goals per game and 30 in shots per game. They scored three or fewer goals in six of their last 10 games. Nick Suzuki leads the team with 42 points. Cole Caufield leads the Habs with 26 goals but he will miss the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury. Kirby Dach has 35 points on the year.

Defense and goaltending have both been poor for the Habs. Montreal ranks 29 in goals against per game and 28 in shots against per game. Jake Allen has a record of 12-18-2 with a 3.47 GAA and .894 SV%. Sam Montembeault has a record of 11-11-2 with a 3.29 GAA and .906 SV%.

Montreal is last in the Atlantic division and they will not make the postseason.

Devils Win Two Straight

New Jersey was a -125 favorite in their last game and they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Dawson Mercer scored twice. Erik Haula had two assists. MacKenzie Blackwood stopped 23 out of 25 shots faced.

The offense has been very good for the Devils recently. They scored three or more goals in eight of the last 10 games. New Jersey ranks sixth in goals per game and fourth in shots per game. Jack Hughes leads the team with 69 points. He also leads the team with 35 goals. Hughes ranks eighth in points and fourth in goals in the league. Jesper Bratt has 54 points and Nico Hischier has 52 points.

The defense and goaltending have both been excellent for New Jersey. They rank third in goals against per game and fourth in shots against per game. Vitek Vanecek has a record of 24-5-3 with a 2.30 GAA and .917 SV%. MacKenzie Blackwood has a record of 8-5-2 with a 3.04 GAA and .900 SV%. Dougie Hamilton has 16 goals and 38 assists this season. He ranks fourth in points, second in goals, and tied for fifth in assists among all defensemen in the league.

New Jersey is second in the Metropolitan division and they are poised to make the playoffs. They rank top 10 in goals per game, shots per game, goals against per game, and shots against per game. The Devils are legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

Best Bets

Full-Game Side Bet

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New Jersey has dominated Montreal in recent matchups. The Devils have a record of 8-1-1 in their last 10 meetings against the Habs. The only matchup between the Devils and the Canadiens this season was back in mid-November in Montreal and New Jersey won the game 5-1. Montreal has struggled on the road, having a 9-15-3 road record on the year. Defense and goaltending have both been poor for the Habs. Montreal ranks 29th in goals against per game and 28th in shots against per game. The Devils scored three or more goals in eight of the last 10 games. They rank sixth in goals per game and fourth in shots per game. Playing at home with a lot of success against Montreal, New Jersey will win this matchup by two or more goals.

Bet the goal spread (-1.5) and take New Jersey.

Prediction: New Jersey Devils (-1.5)

Full-Game Total Pick

Rating:

The defense and goaltending have both been excellent for New Jersey. They rank third in goals against per game and fourth in shots against per game. Vitek Vanecek has a record of 24-5-3 with a 2.30 GAA and .917 SV%. The offense has been poor for Montreal. The Habs rank 29th in goals per game and 30th in shots per game. They scored three or fewer goals in six of their last 10 games. The under has hit in 18 out of 27 road games for Montreal this season. The Habs will struggle to score on the Devils and the under will hit in this contest.

Take the under, six goals.

Prediction: Under 6

Growing up, James was fascinated with watching sports, especially football, and basketball. This led to an interest in research and stats for fantasy sports, which quickly led to a successful career as a sports bettor. His passion has produced multiple tournament wins with generous earnings and he has combined that with his talented writing skills to join our team here at StatSalt. James graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business and has used his overall knowledge of sports betting to make him one to follow each and every day.