Don’t look now, but the No. 4 Montreal Canadiens have ripped off five straight wins in the playoffs and have taken a 2-0 series lead against the Winnipeg Jets back home to the Bell Centre.
The Jets and their shallow bench had no answer for Carey Price in Game 2, as the goaltender picked up a 30-save shutout in Winnipeg. The Montreal offense isn’t going to wow you, but the Canadiens are certainly turning heads with great odds to make it to the final four.
The Canadiens are a -135 NHL betting favorite with the total opening at 5.5.
Here are our free picks and predictions for Jets vs. Canadiens for Sunday, June 6 (6:00 p.m. ET).
Jets vs Canadiens game info
• Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, QB
• Date: Sunday, June 6, 2021
• Time: 6:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet, TVAS, NBCSN
Jets vs Canadiens odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NHL Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonPointsBet USA pegged Montreal a -140 favorite at Saturday morning's outset, and the line fell to -125 by game-day afternoon, where it remains at 3:45 p.m. ET. "Sixty-one percent of bets on Montreal, while 64 percent of cash is on Winnipeg," PointsBet's Wyatt Yearout said of moneyline action. The total opened at 5.5 (Under -145), dipped to 5 (Over -135) this morning and is now 5 (Over -136), with 59 percent of bets on the Under and 69 percent of money on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameJets vs Canadiens series odds
Jets: +525
Canadiens: -769
Jets vs Canadiens betting preview
Injuries
Jets: Mark Scheifele F (Out), Dylan DeMelo D (Questionable), Paul Stastny F (Questionable), Bryan Little F (Out).
Canadiens: Jake Evans F (Out), Jonathan Drouin F (Out), Tomas Tatar F (Questionable).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 4-0 in the Jets’ last four road games. Find more NHL betting trends for Jets vs. Canadiens.
Moneyline pick
It took 10 playoff games but the Canadiens have finally opened as the betting favorite. Is there any value for the North’s fourth-seeded team?
It’s tough to sell you on the Jets after they got blanked 1-0 on Friday and are without their No. 1 center in Mark Scheifele. The Jets looked thin down the middle and Paul Maurice’s line juggling produced zero goals at home in Game 2. Winnipeg managed just 1.83 xgoals despite outshooting the Habs 30-24.
Montreal’s offense hasn’t shown much life in these playoffs but somehow is getting it done. Friday’s only goal was a Tyler Toffoli shorthanded marker, which is a good representation of the Habs' offense: counter and capitalize. We’d love to hit the Jets on the plus-money ML but offensively, we can’t trust them.
Montreal got outshot but had more shots at the net and more of the higher-quality type. In all, the Habs had 12 high-danger chances compared to Winnipeg’s nine and had 60 percent of the xgoals on Friday. Losing your top center is a massive blow to any team’s offense but against a shutdown Habs squad who is getting phenomenal goaltending, we don’t see the Jets turning things around easily. All four Montreal lines finished Game 2 with an xgoal percentage of 60 or better.
There is some value on the Winnipeg ML but with Price playing head games with the Jets’ shooters and Winnipeg showing nothing after losing Scheifele, we have to keep riding the Habs. They didn’t win six games in a row all season, but they also didn't win four in a row, either.
PREDICTION: Montreal ML (-135)
Over/Under pick
Game 2 gave us the best price we’ll see for the Under 5.5, which closed at -126. Now, thanks to a 1-0 win in Game 2, we’re staring down at an Under 5.5 at -141, with it likely hitting 5.
Price is ice cold with no game being too big for the well-decorated netminder. The Montreal goalie has now cast doubt into the juggled offense of the Jets, and we can’t see Winnipeg topping its team total of 2.5. The Jets are averaging just 20.5 scoring chances per game this series, which is well below their mark of 29 per match from Round 1.
Montreal isn’t as worried about scoring as much as other teams, as the Canadiens have found success in shutting down the opposing offense and relying on Price to keep them in the game. Montreal is 3-6 O/U in the 2021 playoffs, and we expect to see some totals of 5 closer to puck drop.
Even if the Canadiens’ offense does get going — averaging 2.22 goals per game in the playoffs — they still have to get the puck past Connor Hellebuyck. The reigning Vezina winner bounced back in Game 2, stopping 25 of Montreal’s 26 scoring chances and all 12 of the high-danger chances he saw.
Low-scoring offenses, shutdown forward lines and elite goaltending have us hitting this total just one way and that’s with the Under. It’s a buy-now bet with the 5.5 trending downwards and some books already posting 5.
PREDICTION: Under 5.5 (-140)
Jets vs Canadiens betting card
- Montreal ML (-135)
- Under 5.5 (-140)
Picks made on 6/5/2021 at 7:20 p.m. ET
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