Struggling Habs Visit Rival Maple Leafs for Final Meeting

The Montreal Canadiens take on the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 10th and final time this season in the third game in six nights between these historic rivals. The Leafs won six of the nine meetings so far this year including a lopsided 5-2 victory on Thursday night.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The game opened with the Maple Leafs as favorites at -188 and the line has moved up to between -190 and -210 depending on the sportsbook. The total opened at 6.5 and can now be found at either 5.5 or 6 with the UNDER favored in the -115 to -125 range at most books.

Montreal News & Notes

The Montreal Canadiens are 5-5 in their last 10 games and appear poised to limp into the playoffs on a sour note. They have a chance to move into third place as they are just two points behind the Winnipeg Jets, but they have also played one more game and are dealing with a lethal combo of poor play and injuries.

Carey Price, Shea Weber, Brendan Gallagher and Jonathan Drouin are all important players missing from the Habs lineup and top line center Philip Danault is questionable for the game.

Overall, the Habs have been one of the best teams in the league in several key metrics. But since April 1, they have been one of the worst. The Habs rank dead last in goals for percentage (30 goals for, 51 against) at even strength in that span. They have also allowed the most high danger chances in the league, tied with Buffalo, since April 1.

Toronto News & Notes

The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the opposite end of the spectrum from the Habs over the last month. Since April 1, the Leafs have allowed the fourth-fewest high danger chances, have created the third-most high danger chances and have the best goals for percentage in the league (48 goals for, 29 against) at even strength.

The offense is propelled in part by a couple of superstar forwards having great seasons. Mitch Marner is third in league scoring with 66 points in 53 games while Auston Matthews is going to run away with the Rocket Richard Trophy as he’s put up 40 goals and 64 points in 49 games.

The question for the Maple Leafs is in net where starter Frederik Andersen’s return feels imminent but backup goalie Jack Campbell has been great in his absence. Campbell is 16-2-2 this season with a .924 save percentage while Andersen is 13-8-2 with a .897 save percentage. He has not played since March 19.