The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs meet Wednesday in NHL action at Scotiabank Arena. Here’s a Maple Leafs vs Canadiens Prediction. This article will include a Maple Leafs vs Canadiens Pick.
Montreal Canadiens Betting Preview
The Montreal Canadiens surprisingly made the playoffs last season and enter year 5 under coach Martin St. Louis. The Habs look to make the playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2020-21 season.
The Canadiens have a young core led by Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield, and making the postseason last year goes a long way towards their growth. Adding a player such as Noah Dobson only elevates this core and makes Montreal a better team on both sides of the puck. A youngster like Lane Hutson is coming off his first full season and there’s legit potential there as well after 62 points in 82 games. To take that next step, Kirby Dach has to stay healthy and Patrik Laine has to have a bounce back season. Still, the Canadiens showed they’re ahead of schedule and have to be taken seriously.
Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Preview
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made the playoffs in each of the last 9 years but are hoping this is the season they get over the hump. Despite four straight seasons of 100-plus points, the Maple Leafs haven’t put themselves in serious cup conversations yet.
Even without Mitch Marner, the Maple Leafs are as talented offensively as any in the business. Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, and Matthew Knies are capable of scoring at least 30 goals each, creating overwhelming depth and balance on the offensive side. Toronto will be fun to watch and put up a lot of crooked numbers this season. The concern is at goalie, with Joseph Woll on personal leave and no idea when he’ll return. Also, the Maple Leafs have an unbearable amount of pressure, as fans are desperate for a deep playoff run and a chance to lift the cup, and another failure could lead to this core breaking up.
Why the Toronto Maple Leafs will win
- The Maple Leafs have won each of their last nine home openers.
- The Canadiens have lost each of their last seven games at Scotiabank Arena.
- The Canadiens have failed to cover the puck line in three of their last four games.
- The favorites have covered the puck line in three of the Maple Leafs’ last four games.
- The home team has won the second period in each of the Canadiens’ last six games.
Why the Montreal Canadiens will win
- The Canadiens have won six of their last eight games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Maple Leafs have lost four of their last five games.
- The Canadiens have covered the puck line in each of their last seven season openers.
- The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last five season openers.
- The Maple Leafs have lost the third period in five of their last six home games.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Canadiens’ last four road games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Maple Leafs’ last four home games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Five of the last six games between teams from the same division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in five of the Canadiens’ last six games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in seven of the Maple Leafs’ last eight home games.
Toronto Maple Leafs Player Prop Facts
- William Nylander has scored a goal in four of the Maple Leafs’ last five home games against the Canadiens.
- William Nylander has recorded at least one point in 12 of the Maple Leafs’ last 13 home games against the Canadiens.
- Travis Boyd has recorded at least one assist in four of his last five appearances with his team as a home favorite.
- William Nylander ranked T1st in the league for multi-goal games (10) last season.
Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts
- Nick Suzuki has scored at least one goal in six of the Canadiens’ last seven games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Juraj Slafkovsky has recorded an assist in three of the Canadiens’ last four games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Nick Suzuki has recorded at least one point in six of the Canadiens’ last seven games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Patrik Laine ranked 4th in the league for Power Play Goals (15) last season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Toronto Maple Leafs ranked T7th in the league for goals per game last season (3.26).
- The Toronto Maple Leafs were one of seven teams to rank in the top 10 for both goals scored and goals conceded per game last season.
- The Montreal Canadiens suffered the equal-largest margin of defeat in a home game last season (7-goals vs Penguins on December, 12).
- The Montreal Canadiens ranked 30th in the league for shots per game last season (25.6).
Maple Leafs vs Canadiens Injury Report
Montreal will be without David Reinbacher. William Trudeau, Zack Bolduc, and Ivan Demidov are considered day-to-day.
The Maple Leafs will be without Joseph Woll, Marshall Rifai, and Scott Laughton.
Maple Leafs vs Canadiens Prediction
The Canadiens are a worth a look after what they accomplished last year and the fact they’ll want to prove that wasn’t a fluke. Rivalry game as well, and I love my dogs in rivalries. However, the Maple Leafs have won 8 of the last 9 games against the Canadiens, and they’ve allowed 1 or fewer goals in 5 of those 9 meetings. There’s one-sided recent history between these clubs and if this season is going to be different, it’s important the Maple Leafs get off to a fast start. I’ll side with the Maple Leafs and lay the PL to shave down the juice.