Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction, NHL Odds
Hockey’s fiercest rivalry gets rekindled on Saturday night, as the Montreal Canadiens play host to the Toronto Maple Leafs in NHL betting action.
One of the hottest teams in the NHL out of the gate this season, the Canadiens have seen a fast 9-3-0 start fizzle with losses in seven of their past eight, capped Thursday’s 8-4 defeat at the hands of the Washington Capitals.
Things have not gone much better for the Maple Leafs, who opened the campaign perched among the favourites on the Stanley Cup odds, but enter the weekend with just one win in their past seven games and mired in 15th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Despite losing their past five overall and four straight at home, the Canadiens are pegged as -140 favourites on Saturday’s NHL odds. The Maple Leafs trail as +115 underdogs but are a strong -200 bet on the NHL puckline, and the total is listed at 6.0.
Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens NHL Betting Odds
The Maple Leafs rolled to a decisive 5-2 win when they welcomed the Canadiens to Scotiabank Arena for their season opener on October 8, and have now topped the Habs in nine of 10 meetings including victories in three of four visits to the Bell Centre.
The Leafs have scored at least four goals in seven of their past 10 dates with Montreal and have seen five of their recent victories come by multi-goal margins. However, the UNDER still holds the edge when these teams meet in Montreal, paying out in four of their past five.
Each of the Leafs’ past three games getting settled by a 3-2 margin, powering a 3-0 run for the UNDER that comes on an epic 13-0 run for the OVER. Indeed. Toronto has tightened up defensively, surrendering just eight goals over the past three games after allowing 19 total goals over their previous four contests.
Conversely, the Habs have been getting rocked by opposing shooters during their current swoon, and have been outscored by a wide 27-10 margin while losing five straight and have scored just five total goals at even strength over their past four at Bell Centre.
Toronto Maple Leafs
If the Leafs are to snap out of their current funk on Saturday night, they are going to need contributions from their supporting cast. The club arrives in Montreal amid a rash of injuries that has sidelined Austion Matthews, Matthew Knies, and Nicolas Roy.
John Tavares and William Nylander have carried the weight on offence, The duo share the team lead with 27 points each, with Tavares maintaining a torrid pace during the club’s slide, recording six points during a four-game points streak while Nylander saw a 14-game points streak end in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Columbus.
The leading candidate to provide the extra spark may be Nicholas Robertson. The 24-year-old winger is pointless in his past two games but has been a road warrior, racking up three goals and six points during a four-game away points streak, and offers excellent value on the NHL player props as a +135 bet to pick up at least one point on Saturday.
Montreal Canadiens
With their scoring touch eluding them, the Canadiens have held a lead for a grand total of just two minutes during their current five-game slide, and have not held the advantage since early in the second period of a brutal 5-1 loss to Los Angeles back on November 11, and have not scored an even-strength goal in the first period in their past four contests.
The Habs supporting cast has been depleted by injuries to the likes of Patrik Laine, Alex Newhook, and Kirby Dach, and offensive contributions from the blue line have not materialized with prized sophomore Lane Hutson and offseason acquisition Noah Dobson combining to score just three total goals to date.
Making matters worse is the sudden dip in production from the club’s biggest stars. Leading point producers Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki have each scored just once during the Habs’ 0-4-1 run, while Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky are enduring seven-game and eight-game scoring drought, respectively.
That’s bad news for the Canadiens, who must now face red-hot Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll, who has compiled a .923 save percentage while allowing just eight goals through his first three starts of the season.
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