Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are set to do battle against Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, and the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre for an Original Six tilt. CBC Sports will broadcast the matchup, and the action gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 8.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens Odds
Toronto is 29-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 55 regular season contests, 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the road team in 2019-20, the Leafs are 15-12 SU.
Toronto currently touts the third-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s converted on 25.3 percent of its extra-man chances this season. Its penalty kill is ranked 26th out of 31 teams, and it’s successfully killed off only 77.1 percent of its penalties..
With a .910 save percentage and 27.8 saves per game, Frederik Andersen (24-18-6) has been the best option in goal for Toronto this season. If head coach Sheldon Keefe decides to rest him, however, Toronto may go with Jack Campbell (9-12-2), who has a .899 save percentage and 2.89 goals against average this year.
Over on the other bench, Montreal is 26-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 11.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 56 regular season outings, 28 of its games have gone under the total, while 25 have gone over and just three have pushed. It’s 12-18 SU at home this season.
The Canadiens have converted on just 19.9 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
Carey Price (27.8 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for the Canadiens. Price has 23 wins, 22 losses, and four overtime losses and has registered a .912 save percentage and 2.73 goals against average this year.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Maple Leafs, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
Six of Montreal’s last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals, and the club is 4-2 overall in those games.
The Canadiens are 8-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 19-22 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Two of Montreal’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 2-0 in those games and 4-1 overall in shootouts this season.
Toronto is ranked 24th this season with 11.6 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it’s averaged 12.7 giveaways over its last 10 games and 14.0 giveaways over its last five.
Montreal skaters have averaged 18.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 12.3 giveaways per game (ranked 29th in the NHL).
The Canadiens this season have handed the sixth-most hits in the NHL (27.0 per game).