The Montreal Canadiens will head down into Ohio to take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. These two teams have met twice so far this season where the Blue Jackets won both games. Both of these teams will not be making playoffs this season either, so it's more of a “give a positive moment for the fans” kind of game. It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Canadiens-Blue Jackets prediction and pick.
Here are the Canadiens-Blue Jackets NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Canadiens-Blue Jackets Odds
Montreal Canadiens: +1.5 (-176) (+134 ML)
Columbus Blue Jackets: -1.5 (+146) (-162 ML)
Over: 6.5 (+100)
Under: 6.5 (-122)
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Why The Canadiens Can Cover The Spread/Win
Article Continues BelowSince hiring Martin St. Louis to take over as the Montreal Canadiens' head coach, the team has improved to 12-12-4. Even so, the Canadiens are fighting for last place at the moment, which is a better chance of getting highly sought-after prospect, Shane Wright. The Canadiens head into this game on a two-game losing streak and a 3-6-1 record in their last 10 games. While the Canadiens are playing four games in six days this week, they'll rely heavily on goaltender Sam Montembeault, who will look to get the start tonight. On the season, he's representing a .896 save percentage while allowing 3.59 goals per game. He'll look to stop (or perhaps let in, depending on if the Canadiens plan on tanking this rest of the season away) pucks from the Blue Jackets.
Why The Blue Jackets Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Columbus Blue Jackets will be coming into this game after a 5-4 overtime win against the Red Wings on Saturday. The Blue Jackets are well aware that they will not be making the playoffs this season, but they won't go down without being the spoiler of a couple of other teams. Starting goaltender Elvis Merzlikins will get the starting nod again tonight as he has been off and on throughout the season. He's averaging 3.40 goals against per game with a .904 save percentage on the season. He'll look to keep pucks out of his net tonight and take advantage of the struggling Canadiens.
Final Canadiens-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick
There's not really a ton to look at in this matchup. Both of these teams are not going to make playoffs, they're more just playing for their contracts at this point. With that said, give me the over in this game just because both of these goalies aren't very good and let up a lot of goals; not to mention that the over is listed in plus money right now. The issue with this pick is that these team offenses aren't very good either, so the winner could go either way. All I hope for is a high-scoring game.
Final Canadiens-Blue Jackets Prediction and Pick: Over 6.5 (+100)