The Montreal Canadiens will be looking to knock off the rival Toronto Maple Leafs and pay off on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com for the third time in three meetings this season when the teams hit the ice together on Saturday night at Bell Centre.
The Canadiens topped the Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shootout as +130 road underdogs on the betting lines in their first meeting of the season back on October 5, with Brendan Gallagher picking up a goal and two assists on the night for Montreal and Carey Price making 32 saves. Auston Matthews had two goals for Toronto, and Michael Hutchinson took the loss in nets.
Montreal and Toronto then met again on October 26, with the Canadiens rolling to a 5-2 victory as -135 home favourites at sports betting sites behind a pair of goals from Jonathan Drouin and 29 saves from Price. Jake Muzzin and Andreas Johnsson scored in that losing cause for the Maple Leafs, and Hutchinson gave up all five Habs goals on 38 shots.
The Canadiens also beat the Maple Leafs in their final meeting of last season, but prior to that Toronto had beaten Montreal seven straight times. Totals bettors have watched the OVER pay out frequently in matchups between the rivals, with the OVER 5-0 in the last five games between the two teams according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
Montreal opened as a +110 underdog for Saturday night, with Toronto the -130 favourite.
There are two other all-Canadian matchups on tap for Hockey Day in Canada on Saturday, with the Winnipeg Jets (-182) and Ottawa Senators (+145) getting things underway in a matinee. The late game then sees the Vancouver Canucks set as -133 betting favourites as they play host to the Calgary Flames, while the Edmonton Oilers are relegated to a home game against the Nashville Predators as -105 underdogs.
The Jets and Senators will be meeting for the first time this season, with Ottawa beating Winnipeg in both of their matchups last season in a pair of OVER results at the sportsbooks. The Senators have lost four straight games heading into Saturday afternoon’s contest, while the Jets have shaken off a five-game skid to get the victory in two of their last three outings.
The Canucks and Flames have split their two meetings so far this season, with both games taking place in Calgary back in October and December. The Canucks have followed up a five-game winning streak by losing each of their last three games, while the Flames are also riding a three-game skid and have been tagged with a loss in six of their last eight outings.
