Canadiens vs. Jets Series Odds, Picks, and Preview

The North Division playoffs have already given us two of the biggest surprises of the first round. The Winnipeg Jets stunned the Edmonton Oilers with a four-game sweep, and the Montreal Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 series deficit with two overtime wins and two wins in Toronto to eliminate the Maple Leafs.

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With their second-round series set to drop the puck on Wednesday, we’ve put together a closer look at the Canadiens and the Jets, along with a series prediction.

Montreal Canadiens Preview

The Canadiens advanced thanks in large part to the goaltending of Carey Price. The seven-time All-Star stopped 30-of-31 shots in Game Seven and had a .945 save percentage in Games Five, Six, and Seven. The Habs bought in defensively too, blocking 44 shots in the final three games of the series.

Montreal’s power-play units came through a clutch as well, scoring twice in Game Six and again in Game Seven. The power play hadn’t scored a goal until Game Six, and the Canadiens are now 3/19 with the man advantage in the playoffs.

Jesperi Kotkaniemi leads the Habs with three playoff goals, and Tyler Toffoli has the team lead in points (two goals, three assists). Toffoli scored once each in Games Six and Seven, and after leading the team in goals in the regular season with 28, he couldn’t have found a better time to light the lamp.

Tomas Tatar did not play in Games Six or Seven with an undisclosed condition (which may be a healthy scratch, which would be somewhat surprising). Artturi Lehkonen missed Game Seven as well, and Jon Merrill will be out for at least another week.

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Winnipeg Jets Preview

Similar to Montreal, Winnipeg’s defense, which had been an Achilles heel during the regular season, found its stride and dramatically slowed down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who finished first and second in the NHL in regular-season points, respectively. While Montreal doesn’t have nearly the same high-end star power as Edmonton, the Jets’ blueliners will still need to be at their best to advance.

Connor Hellebuyck has been brilliant as well and leads all playoff goaltenders in GAA (1.60) and save percentage (.950). He also posted a shutout, and after being snubbed as a Vezina Trophy finalist, he may be playing with a chip on his shoulder in this series as well.

Nikolaj Ehlers returned to the lineup in Game Three after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury. He scored two goals in his 2021 Playoffs debut, including the overtime Game Winner. With a near entirely healthy injury report (save for Nathan Beaulieu, who underwent shoulder surgery in April), Winnipeg could be in good shape if the injury list stays clean.

NHL Playoffs Predictions

Canadiens vs. Jets Series Prediction

The biggest matchup of this NHL series is the starting goaltenders and whether Price or Hellebuyck will blink first. Winnipeg has the advantage among forwards, but Montreal has the edge defensively.

Winnipeg won six of the nine regular-season meetings, though three of their wins came in overtime. Furthermore, 12 of Montreal’s 28 goals in the regular-season series came in two games (the Jets scored 31 goals in those nine games).

These two teams have less separating them than oddsmakers let on (Winnipeg is -130 to win the series, Montreal is +107), but Winnipeg should still come out on top.

WINNING PICK: Winnipeg Jets in Six Games

You can access Canadiens vs. Jets predictions game one picks by following the link.