New Jersey Devils vs. Vancouver Canucks Prediction, Preview, and Odds

The New Jersey Devils put an end to their three-game winning streak last Friday. They lost 6-3 to the San Jose Sharks, playing as massive -480 home favorites. The Devils outshot San Jose 47-18 and didn’t allow a single power-play opportunity to the Sharks, but it wasn’t enough. 

Akira Schmid had an awful day in the office and yielded five goals on just 17 shots, as the Sharks’ sixth goal was an empty-netter. The 23-year-old netminder is now 3-5-1 with a 3.27 GAA and a .891 save percentage on the season, while Vitek Vanecek is 8-5-0 with a 3.49 GAA and a .879 save percentage. 

The Devils’ defense has been pretty bad all season. New Jersey is 31st in the NHL in goals against (3.73 per game) and 24th in penalty-killing percentage (75.0%). On the other side of the puck, the Devils are fourth in goals for (3.59) and first in power-play percentage (27-for-75).

Top Cappers - Last 7 Days
Will Rogers, 26-9, $1596
Tom Macrina, 16-6, $921
Michael Briggs, 31-22, $735The Vancouver Canucks have been inconsistent as of late, going 4-4-0 over their previous eight outings at any location. Last Saturday, they outlasted the Calgary Flames 4-3 as +108 road underdogs to bounce back from a 4-1 home defeat against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

The Canucks allowed a couple of power-play goals to the Flames while going 0-for-4 with the man advantage. Thatcher Demko yielded three goals on 23 shots, improving to 12-6-0 on the season. He holds a strong 2.26 GAA and a .924 save percentage, while Casey DeSmith is 4-2-1 with a 3.06 GAA and a .907 save percentage. 

Vancouver is second in the league in goals for (3.84) and fourth in power-play percentage (25-for-91). The Canucks are 25th in penalty-killing percentage (74.9%), but they still allow just 2.56 goals per game (5th in the NHL). 

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Best Bets for this Game

Insiders Status:

The bookies are expecting a firecracker at Rogers Arena. The total sits at 6.5 goals and is juiced to the over. There’s no way I’m going to take the under in the Devils vs. Canucks showdown even though I’m backing Vancouver to win because of its starting goalie. 

The Devils have scored three or more goals in four straight outings. Seven of their last nine contests have produced more than six goals in total, and the over is 10-4 in their previous 14 outings on the road. On the other side, the over 12-6 in the Canucks’ last 18 games overall and 6-1 in their last seven dates with the Eastern Conference teams.

Prediction: Go over 6.5 goals (-130)