First period
Montreal and New Jersey meet in the regular season with the Canadiens listed as the home team and the Devils listed as the away team.
With only the matchup details available, the cleanest early-angle read for bettors is a first-period approach that leans into Montreal controlling matchups at home, where last change can shape the opening shifts.
Cole Caufield stands out as Montreal’s headline performer in this spot because he is an active Canadiens roster forward available for this matchup.
If you’re building a game plan around a tight opener, first-period moneyline and first-period puck line markets are the most directly tied to the home-ice deployment edge Montreal owns at Bell Centre.
This
Montreal Canadiens vs
New Jersey Devils prediction stays conservative early because no opening odds, spread, or total numbers are provided for this scheduled game.
Second period
The game is scheduled within the regular season group phase, and the mid-game betting focus typically shifts to live odds and in-game totals as lines react to momentum and goaltending performance.
Montreal has two listed healthy goaltenders on the roster in
Samuel Montembeault and
Jakub Dobes, which matters for live betting reads tied to save-driven swings.
Montreal is also carrying several outs on the roster, including
Kaiden Guhle (lower-body, out),
Alex Newhook (ankle, out),
Patrik Laine (abdomen, out), and
Kirby Dach (foot, out), which can influence how books shade player props and team scoring expectations once markets are posted.
Because Kaiden Guhle is out and
Noah Dobson is available on defense, Montreal’s blue-line minutes profile can tilt toward available defenders as the second period opens up with more transition looks.
For gamblers watching for a number, keep an eye on the Montreal Canadiens vs New Jersey Devils total points line once it posts, because injury-driven scoring depth changes can move totals quickly in live markets.
Third period
With the Devils traveling to Montreal as the away side, late-game betting often revolves around the full-game moneyline, regulation line, and live puck line as the final minutes compress variance.
Montreal’s available forwards listed for this matchup include
Nick Suzuki,
Juraj Slafkovský,
Brendan Gallagher,
Josh Anderson, and
Ivan Demidov, which gives the Habs multiple options to stack shifts when chasing a tying goal or protecting a lead.
If you’re looking for a safer late angle once odds appear, a regulation line lean generally reflects whether the market expects overtime risk between evenly matched teams in a single regular-season game.
The matchup’s history is confined here to the fact that these teams are scheduled opponents in this regular-season slot, so bettors should prioritize posted lines and late injury confirmations over narrative trends that are not in the data.
In the final handicap, the Canadiens’ home designation, the Devils’ road designation, and Montreal’s injury list are the concrete factors most likely to shape opening odds, potential line movement, and live betting swings as soon as sportsbooks publish the board, and fans can watch on the Montreal Canadiens vs New Jersey Devils channel options ESPN+ and MSGSN when New Jersey Devils visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on April 5, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET.
Track the board when it opens, play the number that matches your risk, and share this article with fellow Habs fans looking to bet the spot.
