Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Picks, Odds, Predictions 5/22/2021
Montreal Canadiens (25-21-11) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (35-15-7)
May 22, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Toronto Maple Leafs -165 / Montreal Canadiens +145; Over/Under: -5.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs meet in game two of their First Round matchup in NHL action from Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night.
The Montreal Canadiens will look to take a 2-0 stranglehold on the series going back home after taking game one by a final score of 2-1 on Thursday.
Josh Anderson opened the scoring for Montreal with just over eight minutes to go in the opening period, but William Nylander would get Toronto back on level terms at the 4:28 mark of the 2nd period. The 1-1 tie would hold for the rest of the second and into the 3rd before Paul Byron scored with Montreal short-handed to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish the rest of the way despite pressure from Toronto down the stretch.
Carey Price got the win in goal for Montreal after stopping 35 of 36 shots faced in the winning effort while Jack Campbell took the loss between the pipes for Toronto after allowing both goals on 30 shots faced in the defeat.
Montreal is 1-5 in their last 6 games overall and 1-4 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record while the under is 18-4-4 in their last 26 playoff games as an underdog. Toronto is 4-1 in their last 5 home games and 7-3 in their last 10 games overall while the under is 3-1-1 in their last 5 games as a home favorite. Montreal is 2-5 in the last 7 meetings between these two teams and 3-8 in the last 11 meetings between these two teams in Toronto.
I’m not THAT surprised that Montreal took game one, as the injury to John Tavares played a huge part in the way that game one unfolded. I think that if Tavares didn’t get injured, it would’ve went Toronto’s way as you could tell, Toronto’s minds were elsewhere, worrying about their captain and the game felt secondary. I think we see a refocused effort from Toronto in game two and for a bit of added fire to be lit under the Leafs in this one. It’s a bit of a hefty price for the money line, but I still think Toronto gets the job done in this one.
