Maple Leafs Hope to Bounce Back vs Canadiens in Game 2

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their North Division first-round playoff series when they host them again on Saturday in Game 2. The Maple Leafs fell 2-1 to the Canadiens as -210 chalk and also lost center John Tavares to a head injury. The Leafs captain is listed as out indefinitely. 

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The loss of Tavares (19 goals and 31 assists) is a big one for Toronto, especially since it could impact the team long term and significantly hurt its chances of hoisting the Stanley Cup. In the short term though, bettors certainly seem to believe the Maple Leafs were overvalued at their Sportsbook line of -208 as the line has moved down into the -170 to -175 range sans Tavares.  Meanwhile the Habs have gotten stronger with the return of four key players. Montreal got goaltender Carey Price, winger Brendan Gallagher, center Philip Danault and captain Shea Weber back from injuries in Game 1, and their team responded in a big way. The Canadiens are a much better team with them on the ice, and the market reflects that.

Montreal News & Notes

Price has almost always been one of the NHL’s best netminders when healthy, and Montreal saw just how valuable he is in the series opener. The 33-year-old veteran turned away 35 of 36 Toronto shots and gave his team a chance to steal Game 1, which they did. The pressure is now clearly on the Maple Leafs to rebound, especially since they have endured numerous postseason failures in this round for nearly two decades.

The Canadiens simply need to keep these games low-scoring and rely on players like Gallagher to come through for them offensively. While Gallagher did not score in Game 1, he had 19 shifts for more than 14 minutes total with two shots and three hits. He was one of the team’s top goal scorers before he broke his thumb on April 5, and having him back in the lineup gives Montreal one more weapon to throw at Toronto in this series.   

Toronto News & Notes

The Maple Leafs surely have a lot of depth, but that alone will not keep them from missing Tavares. Mentally, they need to prove to themselves that they can win games in this round, as previous playoff foes like the Boston Bruins will not be haunting them here. A Canadian team is guaranteed to advance to the NHL semifinal based on this year’s postseason format, and Toronto was the heavy favorite to do that going into the playoffs.

Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell played well in his first postseason start, stopping 28 of 30 shots by the Canadiens, but his team is powered by a high-octane offense that disappointed. Auston Matthews was a monster during the regular season with a league-high 41 goals, and he must step up to make up for the absence of Tavares.

Betting Pick: Maple Leafs -165

Toronto got a huge wake-up call in Game 1 and will be highly motivated even without Tavares. In fact, Tavares' injury could ignite the Maple Leafs and light a fire inside them. They played a bit shell-shocked in the series opener after his injury, but will find a way to win this one for him to tie things up and head to Montreal with a big win.