Canadiens vs Maple Leafs Pick – NHL Predictions & Odds 1/21/23

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens meet Saturday in NHL action at the Bell Centre. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Preview

The Toronto Maple Leafs are averaging 3.4 goals per game and are scoring on 24.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Auston Matthews leads Toronto with 24 goals, Mitchell Marner has 38 assists and William Nylander has 162 shots on goal. Defensively, the Toronto Maple Leafs are allowing 2.7 goals per game and are killing 78.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Matt Murray has given up 50 goals on 561 shots faced, and Ilya Samsonov has allowed 40 goals on 502 shots.

The Montreal Canadiens Preview

The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 2.6 goals per game and are scoring on 15.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 26 goals, Nick Suzuki has 21 assists and Josh Anderson has 99 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3.6 goals per game and are killing 74.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jake Allen has given up 95 goals on 882 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 60 goals on 657 shots.

Trends

The Maple Leafs are 7-3 in their last 10 Saturday games and 5-2 in their last 7 overall. The Canadiens are 17-35 in their last 52 home games and 42-91 in their last 133 overall. The over is 38-16-3 in Maple Leafs last 57 road games. The over is 8-2-1 in Canadiens last 11 Saturday games. The Maple Leafs are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Montreal and 2-6 in the last 8 meetings. The underdog is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings.

Randy’s Free Pick

The Montreal Canadiens just can’t get out of their own way with their lousy defense, and playing at home hasn’t helped much. The Maple Leafs continue to show a balanced attack, and I’m sure they’d love nothing more than to stick it to a Habs side that’s had the edge in recent meetings. Give me the Maple Leafs and the PL for max betting value.