The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs open the 2020-21 NHL regular season against each other Wednesday for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Below, we analyze the Canadiens-Maple Leafs NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Canadiens at Maple Leafs: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:52 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Canadiens +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Maple Leafs -145 (bet $145 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Canadiens +1.5 (-225) | Maple Leafs -1.5 (+180)
- Over/Under: 6.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Canadiens at Maple Leafs: Projected starting goalies
Carey Price (27-25-6, .909 SV%, 2.79 GAA) at Frederik Andersen (29-13-7, .909 SV%, 2.85 GAA)
Price is expected to be the starting backstop for the opener, and that’s bad news for the Leafs. Last season he posted a 3-0-0 record with a 2.58 GAA and .912 SV% in three starts against Toronto. Price is expected to see more rest this season after the team inked veteran G Jake Allen to serve as his understudy this season.
Andersen, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Maple Leafs, is hopeful of getting off to a good start. The 31-year Danish backstop was actually better on the road last season than at home, going 13-7-6 with a 3.03 GAA and .904 SV% in 28 starts at Scotiabank Arena. He actually didn’t face the Habs last season after going 3-0-1 with a 3.14 GAA and .918 SV% against them in 2018-19, and 3-0-0 with a 1.66 GAA and .950 SV% in 2017-18. He hasn’t lost to the Habs over his past seven starts since an overtime loss at home on Feb. 25, 2017.
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Canadiens at Maple Leafs: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Maple Leafs 4, Canadiens 3
Money line (ML)
Despite Price’s recent success against the them in 2019-20, the MAPLE LEAFS (-145) are still the play at home, and you won’t have to munch a lot of chalk. Yes, Montreal has won four in a row in this series, but it has won just once in the past five trips to Toronto, and the favorite is 19-7 across the past 26 meetings with the home side coming out ahead in four of the previous five battles.
Against the spread (ATS)
I am not confident enough to bet puck lines right off the bat to begin a new season. Given Montreal’s success against Toronto last season, you shouldn’t be, either. AVOID.
Over/Under (O/U)
The OVER 6.5 (+100) is rather pricey. It will be interesting to see how both of the teams respond playing inside a barren 19,800-seat arena which is usually packed to the gills for this heated Canadian rival game. These teams got a taste of playing meaningful games with no fans in the bubble last summer, but it’s still something that is hard to get used to without that energy to feed off. Even so, we should see plenty of fireworks on the ice as the Over has cashed in five of the previous six meetings.
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