Canadiens vs Jets 06/02/21 – Odds and NHL Betting Trends

The Winnipeg Jets will try to carry over their recent regular-season success against the Montreal Canadiens into the first game of a new series. In series prices, the Jets are the -130 favorite and the Canadiens come back as the +105 underdog at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Winnipeg is also the -135 favorite and Montreal is the +115 underdog with a 5.5-goal total on the NHL odds for Game 1 on Wednesday.

The Jets are 7-3 in their last 10 games against the Canadiens, with the OVER hitting seven times. They are also 4-0 in their last four home games, and 9-5 in their last 14 home games as a -120 to -150 betting favorite, with the total going UNDER nine times at online betting sites. The Canadiens are 6-3 in their last nine playoff games as an underdog on the road, with the total going UNDER five times.

Winnipeg was 6-3 against Montreal in the regular season. The teams were level at 19-19 in five-on-five goals, with the Jets earning a 50.8 goals-for percentage (GF%) and 47.3 expected-goals percentage (xGF%), per Natural Stat Trick. (All advanced stats are based on score- and venue-adjusted five-on-five play.) On the power play, the Canadiens were five-for-18 (27.8 percent) and the Jets were seven-for-26 (26.9).

The Canadiens have a short one-day turnaround after eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday, but fatigue typically only catches up with a less rested team later in a series. Montreal has also played well at the Bell MTS Centre this season, to the count of a 57.6 xGF%. The Phillip Danault-Jake Evans-Brendan Gallagher line, which held NHL goal scoring leader Auston Matthews to one goal in seven games, will likely try to duplicate that checking effort against Jets centre Mark Scheifele.

Montreal’s result on Monday meant that a poor night from the Nick Suzuki-Cole Caufield-Tyler Toffoli line was not a post-game storyline, but they will need to step up their offensive production. Corey Perry was Montreal’s leader in expected goals on Monday, but only played nine minutes.

Carey Price is 4-3-0 in the playoffs with a 2.24 goals-against average and .932 save percentage, and MoneyPuck ranks him third in the NHL playoffs with 6.8 goals saved above expected.

The Jets have been off for 10 full days since completing a four-game sweep against the Edmonton Oilers in which the final three games required overtime. In seven seasons under coach Paul Maurice, the Jets are 14-11-2 in home games with three or more days of rest. The Scheifele-Kyle Connor-Blake Wheeler line will face a much different matchup from Danault and his wings than they did against Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the last round.

There could be more anytime scorer props potential farther down the depth chart, where the Paul Stastny-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Nikolaj Ehlers second unit is not only skilled but more seasoned than the Suzuki-led Montreal trio. Wheeler, Connor and Mason Appleton were the Jets’ leaders in expected goals against Edmonton.

Connor Hellebuyck is 4-0-0 in the playoffs with a 1.60 GAA and .950 save percentage. He is also second in goals saved above expected with 7.5, even though he has played three fewer games than any of the other league leaders.