Picks: Columbus Looks to Garon to Right Ship
Nice 2-0 rebound with big wins from the Bruins and Stars! Only one matchup tonight but it should be a good one!
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Columbus Blue Jackets +115 at Montreal Canadiens -135
Here’s a fun stat, when the Blue Jackets turn to Mathieu Garon the game after the Blue Jackets get blown out, they are 2-1 overall and 1-1 on the road with a shutout. The Habs? Haven’t beaten a Central Division opponent yet this year after dropping their matchup against Detroit on Saturday. They have, however, won 3 of their last 5 but are still only 6-5-1 at home (0-2-1 against Western teams). Prior to losing their last 2, Columbus was on a 3-game winning streak and overall, they’ve managed to go 2-1-1 on the road in the East. Columbus does feature the league’s best road offense, 3.8 goals per game, but also feature the league’s worst road offense, a whopping 4.2 goals per game. At least we can be fortunate Steve Mason, 4-3-1 and 4.39 GAA on the road, won’t be in net but Mathieu Garon isn’t exactly Mr. Reliable, either. Garon does have a 3.49 GAA on the road this season but a lot of that was in relief of Mason. In his 3 starts, Garon is 2-1 with a 2.67 GAA against – something I can live with. Montreal is just as inconsistent as the Jackets but produce much less at home than the Jackets can deliver – 2.8 goals for and 2.7 goals against – and have only won 1 of their last 4 home games (they beat Carolina 3-2). Columbus has gone over the game total in 10 of their 12 road games this season but Montreal has gone under in 4 of their last 5 home games.
Pick: Jackets +115
Fan Favourite Record: 5-9, -5.02
Betting results by category so far this season:
- Money Line 47-53, -14.26
- Puck Line 7-18, -7.1
- Game Totals 42-32-1, +4.17