The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for their second straight victory over the Montréal Canadiens when these teams face off on Saturday. Toronto defeated Montréal on Thursday, 5-2.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this North Division battle at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto is the favorite at -208. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Montréal at +180 as the underdog.
The Canadiens have a number of injuries for this contest. Shea Weber, Carey Price, Brendan Gallagher, Jonathan Drouin, and Paul Byron are out. Philip Danault is listed as questionable. Toronto will also be without their top goaltender as Frederik Andersen is out. Also out for the Maple Leafs are Riley Nash, Zach Hyman, Scott Sabourin, Nick Foligno, and Zach Bogosian.
Early Surge Dooms Canadiens
Toronto scored the first four goals of the game, and that proved to be too much as Montréal fell to the Maple Leafs, 5-2. Cole Caufield and Artturi Lehkonen scored the two goals for the Canadiens. Cayden Primeau started for Montréal but was pulled after giving up four goals on 15 shots.
Montréal is 16th in goals per game at 2.83 and is 22nd in shooting percentage at 9.0%. They are 17th on the power-play at 20.0%. The Canadiens are led in scoring by Tyler Toffoli with 43 points. He also leads the team in goals with 28. Jeff Petry is second on the team in points with 41.
Montréal is 17th in goals allowed per game at 2.91 and is 20th in penalty killing at 78.9%. It will be Jake Allen in net for Montréal. Allen is 11-11-4 with a 2.62 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
Oshie Leads Capitals in Fight Marred Contest
The Maple Leafs had four players score first-period goals in their victory over Montréal. John Tavares and Mitchell Marner each scored a goal and added an assist. Auston Matthews scored his team-leading 40th goal of the season. Jack Campbell made 19 stops in the victory.
Toronto is fifth in goals per game at 3.36 and is seventh in shooting percentage of 10.8%. They are 15th on the power-play at 20.6%. Marner now leads the team with 66 points and is first in assists with 47. Matthews is close behind with 64 points.
The Maple Leafs are seventh in goals allowed per game at 2.60 and are 26th in penalty killing at 77.2%. Look for Campbell to be back between the pipes. He is 16-2-2 with a 2.11 GAA and a .924 save percentage. Campbell has allowed eight total goals in his last five games.
Trends:
Montréal:
- 1-4 in their last five games on the road.
- 2-6 in their last eight games as the road underdog.
Toronto:
- 5-0 in their last five games on a Saturday.
- 6-1 in their last seven games.
Toronto is peaking at the right time, and look like they could very well breeze through the North Division playoffs. This is likely a first-round preview, and Toronto is going to want to do everything they can to ensure Montréal has no illusions about winning the series against them. I expect the Maple Leafs to crush the Canadiens.
Pick: Take Toronto at -208.
The Total:
Montréal has gone over in five of their last six games on the road. When these teams met on Thursday, seven total goals were scored. Allen has not played well of late for Montréal, and I expect him to struggle against a very good Maple Leafs offense. Toronto is going to win this game by at least three goals.
Pick: Go over 5.5 at -130.
