Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens: NHL Odds, Prediction

Ricky Rothstein
Last Updated: November 6, 2017

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens are, arguably, the biggest rivalry in the National Hockey League; it is certainly the longest-running. However, the Canadiens have dominated the Maple Leafs in recent years and they’ll look to get another win on Saturday night when they host the Maple Leafs in their first meeting of the season.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

Date: Saturday, October 14^th, 2017 – 7:00 PM ET
Location: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec
NHL Odds: Canadiens -120

NHL Odds and Betting Analysis

The Canadiens have won 14 games in a row over the Maple Leafs, who last beat Montreal in January 2014 at home. Nine of those 14 wins have come by one goal, but a loss is a loss. The last five totals have been set at 5.5 goals and four of those games have gone under the posted total.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maple Leafs are 3-1-0 following their loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. However, New Jersey looks much improved, so it’s not as egregious as many might think. The concern, though, is the number of goals let in as the Leafs have now given up 14 in their last three contests. While they’re scoring plenty, goaltender Frederik Andersen has an ugly 3.96 GAA and .871 save percentage. That has to change.

The Leafs are first in the league in goals per game and power-play percentage (33.3%) to start the season, although they’re 19^th in penalty killing. The Maple Leafs have some things to work out – especially on defense – but they’re incredibly exciting to watch and most of all, they’re having success right now.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens are 1-3-0 and have been off since Tuesday, which gave them plenty of time to think about how things are going as they’re coming off a 3-1 loss to the Blackhawks. The Canadiens outshot the Blackhawks 42-25 but they couldn’t find the back of the net, which has been a common problem for the Canadiens over the last few years. They’re 31^st in the league in goals scored and 27^th on the power play.

Carey Price hasn’t been great to start the season as he has a 3.30 GAA and a .899 save percentage. That’s the worry for the Canadiens, who have always had Price playing at an elite level whether or not they could score goals. If Price isn’t playing at that level, then how much trouble are they in? Price has been excellent against the Maple Leafs throughout his career, so this could be a good bounce-back opportunity for both him and the team. Price posted a 1.50 GAA and .950 save percentage while going 4-0 against them last season.