New Jersey Devils vs Montreal Canadiens Prediction: The Devils need to prove themselves on offense

Prediction for the NHL New Jersey Devils vs Montreal Canadiens match, which will take place on February 22. Check the team conditions and choose several betting options.

New Jersey has had a brilliant regular season, increasingly threatening to make the playoffs. The Devils have failed the last few seasons, so we're seeing solid progress in their performance. They've slowed down a bit at the end of 2022, but since January, they've been playing at the level of the best teams in the league again. In their last 17 meetings, they've only been scoreless twice, lost a couple more times outside of three periods, and celebrated a winning outcome on 13 occasions. They have beaten Pittsburgh and Winnipeg 5:2 and 4:2, respectively, in their last two games, moving up to third place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Montreal is another team that failed last season, but instead of working on their mistakes, they continue to do the same now. The team is among the league's outsiders, playing mediocre-quality hockey. That said, they suddenly came alive in mid-February, beating the Islanders 4:3, Edmonton 6:2, and Chicago 4:0. It seemed that these Canadian guys were unstoppable, but then they lost to Carolina and Toronto with a total score of 3:11, after which it became clear - the good old Canadiens were back! Montreal finished in last place in the Eastern Conference standings.

New Jersey and Montreal are teams at different poles of the Eastern Conference standings, which indicates a severe difference in their skill level. For the Devils, the current regular season is going very well. They are in the top group and are in good shape right now, having won their last six consecutive home games. In contrast, the Canadiens have many gambling problems, which is why they are in the penultimate place, and on the road, they have lost 10 out of 11 previous fights. Now the home team is the favorite, and to bet on the victory of New Jersey with a handicap (-1,5) is possible.

Montreal lately not only loses almost all guest meetings but also catastrophically misses many of them. In the previous ten games on the road, the Canadiens conceded 49 pucks (4.90 average per game), a very poor mark even by NHL standards. In addition, the Devils have one of the most efficient offenses among the Eastern Conference clubs, so now they have to show themselves on offense. The best option for the prediction seems to be an individual total of New Jersey over 4.5 pucks. In addition, we should look at the bet on the total over 0.5 points by Egor Sharangovich.