Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction, NHL Odds

Edgar Chaput | Updated Nov 09, 2024

NHL: Detroit Red Wings at Toronto Maple Leafs

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Saturday is all right for an Original Six matchup as the struggling Montreal Canadiens seek two points versus eternal rivals the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Montreal
8-12-2-1
AT
November 09, 2024, 7:00 PM ET
Scotiabank Arena
Toronto
14-7-2
Puckline +1.5 -135
Moneyline +185
Over / Under o +6
Matchup Odds
Puckline -1.5 +110
Moneyline -225
Over / Under u +6
Matchup Odds

Things are…not great in Montreal these days. The Canadiens languish in the basement of the Eastern Conference with only 10 points. Their latest setback at rebuilding was a 5-3 defeat on Thursday night away to the New Jersey Devils. As for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they’re getting by as best they can without the services of captain Auston Matthews, who is injured. They hosted a rare Friday night game for the Hall of Fame festivities and downed the Detroit Red Wings 3-1.

Our NHL odds predictably have the Leafs as -1.5 favourites on the puck line and considerable -225 favourites on the moneyline.

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs NHL Betting Odds

Toronto was riding an impressive five-game winning streak over its rivals from La Belle Province, that is, until this season’s opening game when the Habs narrowly won 1-0. Netminder Samuel Montembeault stole the show that evening, making 48 saves for one his most iconic shutouts.

Where to begin with the Canadiens? Things are not looking good, other than Cole Caufield’s hot start to the campaign and the excitement Lane Hutson stirs whenever he receives the puck. The Habs are only 4-8-1 straight up and have fallen five times in a row, with only an OT defeat to the Flames earlier this week producing a point for all their efforts. Things are a tiny bit better ATS with a 6-8 tally, but it’s not as if Montreal can be trusted that much with the puck line.

Playing at home has been a good omen for the Maples Leafs, what with a strong 6-2 outright tally to show for their efforts. Furthermore, unlike in seasons past, Toronto is faring well versus the spread, as evidenced by the 10-5 record. Possibly the brightest spot these days, apart from the current two-game winning streak, is the sudden improvement of the power play efficiency. It’s only at 18.4 per cent, but the club as netted five times on the man advantage this week.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens are finding all sorts of ways to lose games this season. On Thursday in New Jersey it was a familiar story of the club falling behind earlier, something they need to avoid at all costs given the relative dearth of offence.

The Devils pleased their fans by racing out to a 2-0 first period lead through Jesper Bratt and Ondrej Palat. It looked as if the hosts would leave Martin St. Louis’ team in the dust, but to their credit, the Canadiens mounted what could be described as a fight. Beleaguered forward Alex Newhook (third) wristed a shot to halve the deficit in the second period. After the hosts bolstered the score to 3-1, veteran Brendan Gallagher (sixth) pounced on a rebound to make it a 3-2 game.

There were undoubtedly opportunities in the final frame to turn the tide, and it was nice to see Newhook earn a brace (fourth) courtesy of a brilliant individual effort on a breakout. That said, Montreal was, not for the first time, simply the second-best team on the ice, ultimately losing 5-3.

Toronto Maple Leafs

It will be interesting to see how fresh the Leafs are for a back-to-back duo of games. At the very least they get to remain at home after hosting the Red Wings on a special Hall of Fame night in Toronto.

No one is going to argue that the Leafs are just as good a team without their talisman, but they’ve looked solid through two games during Matthews’ absence. Perhaps more interesting is that they appear to have solved – for now – their power play woes. They netted twice more on Friday night through Mitch Marner (third) in the first period when he pounced on his own rebound, then again in the middle frame via John Tavares (sixth) with a wrist shot through traffic.

The Leafs didn’t expend too much energy in this one, totalling only 20 shots on target, but the defence held strong. Anthony Stolarz only had to make 21 saves in the 3-1 win.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs?

NHL Predictions
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  • MON
  • +185 -225
  • TOR
Matchup NHL Odds