The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs play Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena. Below, we analyze the Canadiens-Maple Leafs odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Canadiens opened the series with a 2-1 victory in Toronto Thursday night. It was the first meeting in the postseason between these two Original Six organizations since 1979.
Not only did the Leafs lose on a Paul Byron shorthanded goal at 12:44 of the third period, but they were forced to deal with the loss of John Tavares to a serious upper-body injury in the first period. He was released from the hospital Friday but is out indefinitely.
Canadiens at Maple Leafs: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:10 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Canadiens +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Maple Leafs -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Canadiens +1.5 (-165) | Maple Leafs -1.5 (+135)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: +105 | U: -125)
Canadiens at Maple Leafs: Projected starting goalies
Carey Price (12-7-5, 2.64 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Jack Campbell (17-3-2, 2.15 GAA, .921 SV%, 2 SO)
Price was tremendous in his first action in a month due to a concussion. He allowed just one goal on 36 shots to help the Habs seize home-ice advantage from the Maple Leafs.
Campbell allowed just two goals on 30 shots in his first career playoff appearance. Unfortunately for Campbell, he was beaten on a shorthanded breakaway late in the third period, and his offense gave him little support.
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Canadiens at Maple Leafs: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Maple Leafs 3, Canadiens 2
Money line (ML)
The MAPLE LEAFS (-190) are worth a play as they look to bounce back after their Game 1 setback.
Toronto had a couple of days to adjust to the shock of losing Tavares, and it should be able to make the proper adjustments to scratch out a win and grab the split at home.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The CANADIENS +1.5 (-165) won a low-scoring battle at Scotiabank Arena in Game 1, and they will be able to keep it close in another lower-scoring battle in Game 2.
This won’t end in a 2-0 series lead for Montreal, but they’ll scratch out the puck line win to keep Toronto fans on pins and needles before the series shifts to Montreal.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-125) is the play here, as we saw very little offense and a lot of hitting, backchecking and tremendous goal play. The Tavares injury also hurts the offensive flow for the Leafs, and that will help Under bettors, too.
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