The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens are both on scoring tears right now as they meet Saturday night in Toronto.
The Leafs have had incredible offensive production in their last 10 games — they have scored 48 goals over that stretch and Auston Matthews continues to inch closer to 60 goals. The Canadiens haven’t had a great season, but they‘ve found their scoring touch in the second half.
See who has the betting edge with our Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs NHL picks and predictions for Saturday, April 9.
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Canadiens vs Maple Leafs odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Maple Leafs opened up as -400 heavy home favorites and the line hasn’t had any movement, with the Canadiens opening as +305 road underdogs. The total opened up at 7 and hasn’t had any movement.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Canadiens vs Maple Leafs predictions
Predictions made on 3/9/2022 at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Canadiens vs Maple Leafs game info
• Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
• Date: Saturday, April 9, 2022
• Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet Ontario
Canadiens vs Maple Leafs betting preview
Key injuries
Canadiens: Jeff Petry D (Questionable), Paul Byron F (Out), Justin Barron D (Out), Michael Pezzetta F (Out), Jonathan Drouin F (Out), Carey Price G (Out).
Maple Leafs: Petr Mrazek G (Out), Ondrej Kase F (Out), Rasmis Sandin D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Canadiens vs Maple Leafs head-to-head record
Canadiens: 2-1-0 SU, 10 goals for.
Maple Leafs: 1-2-0 SU, 6 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The home team is 4-1 in the last five meetings between the two teams. Find more NHL betting trends for Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs.
Canadiens vs Maple Leafs picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
As good as the Toronto Maple Leafs have been this season, for some reason whenever the meet the Canadiens, they struggle to find ways to beat them. The Habs have won the last two meetings between the two teams — granted, they were the home team in both games — but with the way Toronto has been playing lately, tonight could be the night where they completely dominate their rival.
Toronto is the second-best offensive team in the NHL and they look unstoppable right now. They currently have a 56% expected goals rate and are averaging 3.83 gpg. The Leafs have scored at least four goals in their last eight straight games and have gone 6-0-1 in their last seven games.
They’re heating up right now and it’s all thanks to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who are leading the way for them offensively. Matthews is three points away from hitting the century mark and currently has a career high of 56 goals on the season. Marner has also had an incredible year, with 31 goals and 58 assists for 89 points in 62 games.
The Leafs’ power-play has been their biggest threat this season and they will look to take advantage of Montreal having the fourth-worst penalty killing unit. Toronto has converted on four out of their last 10 power plays and they are at 30.2% on the season right now, which is the best in the league.
Montreal can score goals as well, as they have 14 in their last three games, but they have been way more inconsistent this season, only averaging 2.61 gpg, which ranks 27th.
With the way the Leafs are scoring right now, I don’t see any scenario where the Habs slow them down. I think the Leafs will take care of them on home ice.
Prediction: Maple Leafs ML (-375 at BetMGM)
Over/Under analysis
Both of these teams are weak defensively, especially Montreal, currently allowing 3.8 goals against per game. Jake Allen is getting the start for the Habs in this contest, and he has not had his best season, at 9-20-4 with a 3.29 GAA and a .904 save percentage.
In goal for the Leafs will be Erik Kallgren, who we have not seen a ton of this season, but he has been solid in his small sample size of appearances. Kallgren is 4-2-1 with a 2.9 GAA and a .902 save percentage. The Leafs aren’t great in their own end, but they are much better defensively than Montreal. Toronto ranks 17th in defensive proficiency as they are allowing 3.07 goals against per game.
Both of these teams are scoring a ton of goals right now and they also struggle to keep pucks out of their own net. The Leafs have scored 16 goals in their last three games and the Habs have scored 14. I think both offenses will continue to roll and this game will go Over.
Prediction: Over 7 (-105 at BetMGM)
Best bet
The Leafs know that they haven’t played their best against Montreal this season, so I think there will be an emphasis on how they start this game. They need to come out and set the tone early by taking it to the Habs in the first 20 minutes of the game.
In first periods this season, the Leafs are averaging 1.18 goals scored and only 0.83 goals against. Montreal is averaging 0.68 goals for and 1.23 against.
The Leafs are 25-7-2 on home ice and the Canadiens are 10-20-7 on the road. I love Toronto’s odds on the first period, they have been excellent all season from the jump and I really think they will come out hard and score some goals early on. I’m taking the Leafs in the first period.
Pick: Maple Leafs -0.5 1P (-115 at BetMGM)
