In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens meet at Bell Centre in an Original Six showdown. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 18, and fans at home are able to see the game live on CBC Sports.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds
Toronto is 13-7 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 20 regular season contests, 11 of its games have gone over the total, while seven have gone under and just two have pushed. The Leafs are 5-4 SU as an away team in 2017-18.
Toronto has converted on 22.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s good enough for eighth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 12th overall, and the teams successfully killed off 81.4 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Leafs have been penalized 4.0 times per game during the 2017-18 season, 4.0 per game over its last five outings total, and 4.6 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.9 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
With a .909 save percentage and 30.4 saves per game, Frederik Andersen (11-6) has been the top option in goal for Toronto this year. If it decides to rest him, however, the team might roll with Curtis McElhinney (2-1 record, .910 save percentage, 3.05 goals against average).
Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri will both be relied on to produce for the visiting Maple Leafs. Matthews has 19 points on 10 goals and nine assists, and has recorded two or more points in six different games. Kadri has nine goals and eight assists to his name (and has registered at least one point in 11 games).
Over on the other bench, Montreal is 8-12 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 11 of its contests have gone over the total, while eight have gone under and just one has pushed. Thus far, the team is 4-6 SU as the home team.
The Canadiens have converted on just 15.3 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 27th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 74.6 percent of all opponent power plays.
Canadiens players have been penalized 4.0 times per game in total this season, 4.2 per game over their past five match ups total, and 4.2 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to kill penalties 10.2 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
Carey Price has stopped 25.3 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for the Canadiens. Price has three wins, eight losses, and one OT loss and has registered a mediocre 3.77 goals against average and a subpar .877 save percentage this season.
The home team will be led on offense by Jonathan Drouin (three goals, 10 assists) and Brendan Gallagher (eight goals, five assists).
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Canadiens, O/U – Over
Betting Trends:
- The total has gone under in four of Montreal’s last five outings.
- Toronto has managed 27.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Montreal is averaging 32.8 shots per game over its last five at home.
- This game features two of the more physical teams in the league. Toronto skaters have dished out the leagues eighth-most hits per game (23.1) and the Habs have tallied the sixth-most (24.6).
