Either a three-game winning streak by the Canadiens or a four-game run by the Metropolitan Division co-leading Blue Jackets will end on Friday night in Columbus. NHL odds favor Columbus to win its fifth in a row.
How to Bet Canadiens vs Blue Jackets NHL Betting Lines & Game Info
“Each bad thing that happens to our club gives another guy a chance.” – Torts#CBJ pic.twitter.com/ox6h66QfM6
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) 17 de enero de 2019
- When: Friday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Nationwide Arena
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- Radio: TuneIn
- NHL Betting Lines: Columbus Blue Jackets -160 / Montreal Canadiens +135 (Total 6)
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Season Series
Somehow, first meeting of season. Columbus won two of three last year, including 5-2 at home in the final meeting. Seth Jones had two first period power-play goals. Nick Foligno, Boone Jenner and Ian Cole also scored for Columbus. Sergei Bobrovsky had 38 saves. Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin scored for Montreal, which didn’t have top netminder Carey Price.Why Bet on Montreal?
The Montreal Canadiens were 5-1 home winners vs. Florida on Tuesday, their third straight victory. Shea Weber scored a goal and assisted on another. Weber and Jonathan Drouin fed the puck back-and-forth before Weber let go of a blast to tie things up 29 seconds into the second period. Weber then capped off his night with the only assist on Phillip Danault’s goal 10 minutes later. Weber’s goal is the 196th regular-season marker of his career, which ties him with Scott Stevens for 23rd on the all-time list among defensemen.Max Domi ended a 17-game goalless slump. Domi had a goal called back in the contest before putting an end to the goalless drought. He gave Montreal a 3-1 lead over. Domi has 15 goals and 41 points in 48 matches. Antti Niemi stopped 52 of 53 shots. He stopped all 21 shots he faced in the period to improve to 8-4-1 with a 3.63 goals-against-average and a .897 save percentage. The 52 save night set the franchise record for the most in a regular-season home contest.
Center Jesperi Kotkaniemi might be able to set a Canadiens record this season. Kotkaniemi is within striking distance of Mario Tremblay’s record for points by an 18-year-old. Tremblay picked up 21 goals and 39 points in 63 games. Kotkaniemi has six goals and 23 points in 48 games, which means he’s on pace for 39 points in 82 contests.
Canadiens forward Paul Byron received a three-game suspension for charging MacKenzie Weegar of the Panthers on Tuesday. The Department of Player Safety said via video that Byron “launches up and into a forceful check” while making “significant contact” with Weegar’s head. Byron will be unavailable for Friday’s game at Columbus, Saturday’s home game versus the Flyers, and a Wednesday, Jan. 23 contest versus the Coyotes.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.04
- Shots: 33.29
- PP/PK Percentage: 12.90
Defense
- Goals: 2.96
- Shots: 31.60
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.75
Why Bet on Columbus?
The Columbus Blue Jackets got a fourth win in a row Tuesday, 4-1 over New Jersey. Artemi Panarin scored a goal and assisted on another. Off a faceoff win, David Savard sent over a great backhand feed right to Panarin for the easy tap in to close out the opening period. Panarin then ended his night with the secondary assist on Pierre-Luc Dubois’ power play marker to give the Blue Jackets a 4-0 lead to start the final frame. The 27-year-old Panarin has seven points in his last four games, bringing him to 18 goals and 52 points in 44 games this season.Cam Atkinson recorded two first period points (1-1-2) for his 13th multi-point outing of the campaign. He extended his goal streak to three-straight games (three goals) and his point streak to four-straight (3-3-6). He has also collected points in four-straight home games (3-5-8).
Joonas Korpisalo allowed one goal on 30 shots. Korpisalo looked like he was going to get his first shutout of the season but Blake Coleman beat him with a deflection with only 96 seconds left in regulation. It’s four straight wins for Korpisalo, improving his record to 9-2-2 with a 2.94 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage. Korpisalo has a 1.62 GAA and .949 save percentage over his last three starts.
The team has won a season high four-straight home contests and is 7-1-1 in the past nine outings at Nationwide Arena. Columbus has scored four or more goals in 23 of its 46 games this season, including three of the past four.
The Blue Jackets finished 1-for-3 on the man advantage vs. the Devils and moved to 4-for-13 on the power play over the last four games (30.8 pct.). The Jackets went 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and have killed off all 16 opponent power play chances in the last eight games. They have killed off 37-of-40 opponent power plays over the last 19 games overall (92.5 pct.) and 75-of-87 opponent power plays since Nov. 1 (35 games; 86.2%).
Columbus scored three first period goals, marking the third time the club has scored three or more goals in the opening period (MR: Dec. 4 vs. Calgary) and the 17th time in a single period overall.
Brandon Dubinsky (hamstring) will probably return on Friday, per coach John Tortorella. Dubinsky has missed the Blue Jackets’ last four games.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.30
- Shots: 32.00
- PP/PK Percentage: 14.49
Defense
- Goals: 3.04
- Shots: 30.28
- PP/PK Percentage: 18.03
Canadiens vs Blue Jackets NHL Betting Trends
- Home team is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings
- Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Columbus
- Montreal is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
- Montreal is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Montreal’s last 9 games
- Columbus is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing Montreal
- Columbus is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games when playing Montreal
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Columbus’s last 5 games when playing Montreal
