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The New Jersey Devils continue to be the story of the NHL. Winners of nine in a row and sitting atop the Metropolitan Division with a 12-3-0 record and a +17 goal differential, the hockey world (and the betting market) has taken notice of what is transpiring in Newark.
But, as always is the case in these kind of situations, the question now becomes whether the market is too high on the Devils.
Is Tuesday night the right time to sell high on Jersey?
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Canadiens vs. Devils prediction
Since Martin St. Louis took over behind the bench midway through last season, the Montreal Canadiens have established themselves as a pesky underdog. The Habs are young, flawed, and make mistakes, but they’re an exciting team that works hard and has plenty of offensive upside to keep them in contests.
The underlying metrics bear this all out. Montreal ranks 21st in shot attempt share, 24th in expected goals rate and 27th in high-danger scoring chance percentage, but the Habs are 11th in the NHL in 5-on-5 goal differential.
But Montreal has shown that it doesn’t need to dominate the shot clock or tilt the rink to get results. The Habs are an opportunistic offense thanks to the presence of elite skill players like Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and a supporting cast of effective offensive players like Josh Anderson, Brendan Gallagher, Mike Hoffman and Kirby Dach.
Those players will need to be clinical on Tuesday night because it’s unlikely they’ll get a lot of good looks against the Devils, who lead the NHL in expected goals against and high-danger scoring chances conceded this season.
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But there is reason to believe that the Habs can find some offensive success on Tuesday night. The Devils were already struggling to find consistent goaltending this season (New Jersey ranks 20th in the NHL with a .896 save percentage), and now have to turn to No. 3 goaltender Akira Schmid with Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek both hurt.
The Devils have controlled play so well that their pedestrian goaltending hasn’t bit them, but at some point, it will, and Schmid really struggled in his cameo with the team last season.
The betting market remains infatuated with the Devils, and they’ll likely take some money and push this number even further. Still, savvy bettors can be patient and come back in on the pesky Habs at a good number against a complete unknown in goal.
Canadiens vs. Devils pick
Montreal Canadiens +146 (FanDuel)
