Martin St. Louis has clearly reinvigorated the Montreal Canadiens, who all of a sudden couldn't stop themselves from collecting victories. But a tough task is ahead of the Habs, as they will play the Winnipeg Jets on the road this Tuesday night. The Jets are not necessarily in fine form, but they are a threat nonetheless to the great things the Canadiens are enjoying under their new head coach. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NHL odds series, which includes our Canadiens-Jets prediction, odds, and pick we have laid out below.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Canadiens-Jets odds:
NHL odds: Canadiens-Jets Odds
Canadiens: +1.5 (-148)
Jets: -1.5 (+120)
Over: 6.0 (-106)
Under: 6.0 (-114)
Why the Canadiens Could Cover the Spread
Remember when the Canadiens made a Cinderella run in last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs? Well, they are unlikely to make that kind of success in the postseason because they are not going to make it to the playoffs, but they are arguably among the most dangerous teams at the moment in the NHL. And it’s mainly because Martin St. Louis has the Habs fighting like hell. After a debilitating 10-game losing streak that included St. Louis’ 0-3 start in his head-coaching gig, the Canadiens have turned it on and won five in a row. Montreal had not stitched together two wins in a row prior to St. Louis’ appointment as interim head coach but is now clearly having success with a fresh face on the bench.
During their current undefeated run, the Canadiens have outscored opponents 17-7, and that's without scoring a single power play goal. While that's not exactly a good thing, the Canadiens have improved greatly of late in moving the puck for better scoring opportunities, which has been a problem for the team for the most part of the season. Montreal owns a season 45.94 SCF% but that has gone up by five percent in the Habs’ last five games (49.77 SCF%). Center Nick Suzuki has two goals and three assists in the last five Montreal games, while right-winger Artturi Lehkonen has a pair of goals and an assist in the same span. Another thing to know about the Canadiens heading into this matchup is that they are 5-0 in their last five games against the Jets, dating back to April 2021.
Why the Jets Could Cover the Spread
There’s got to be an increased sense of urgency for the Jets, who are sitting way out of the wild card picture in the Western Conference with a 23-221-9 record for 55 points. They had a brutal four-game losing skid that finally ended last Sunday in a 5-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes in the desert. The Jets are not a perfect team, but it's one that shouldn't be losing to a team like Arizona and also Montreal. While the Canadiens have gotten red hot, it's hard to imagine Montreal sustaining the 109.4 PDO that it has posted through five games. And that's also while the Canadiens have been outshot in four of those contests. The Jets should be able to win the possession battle later tonight, which would be a big plus for the hottest player between the two sides in the form of Kyle Connor, who has buried four goals in five games.
Adam Lowry has also made loud noises with three goals over the same stretch on just seven shots. Winnipeg has not scored a goal on the man advantage in two games, but it can look forward to ending that mini-drought against Montreal's penalty kill that's among the worst this season in stopping opposing teams from scoring on the power play. The Canadiens are 30th overall with a 74.43 PK%. Conversely, Winnipeg is 14th in power play goals (14) and 15th with a 20.73 PP%. Although the Jets have lost quite a lot in their recent games, those were against legitimately good teams (Calgary, Dallas, Colorado). Montreal is in a groove, but it’s up to the Jets tonight to expose the Habs.
Final Canadiens-Jets Prediction & Pick
As mentioned earlier, the Canadiens’ PDO in their last five games is through the roof. It’s unsustainable and regression for Montreal could come as soon as this Tuesday night when they play the Jets, who are 29-24 against the puck line this season overall and 12-12 against the puck line at home. It was fun while it lasted for the Canadiens, who will have to pick up the pieces after what I predict to be an easy win for Kyle Connor and the rest of the Jets.
Final Canadiens-Jets Pick: Jets -1.5 (+120)
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