The Toronto Maple Leafs'and Montreal Canadiens open their regular seasons Tuesday at Bell Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Maple Leafs are listed among the preseason favorites to win Lord Stanley’s Cup, but in order to do that, a team needs to be able to get out of the 1st round of the playoffs.
Toronto fell in the 1st round to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 7 games last year and fell to the Montreal Canadiens in a 7-game opening round series in the 2021 postseason. The Original 6 rival has been a thorn in the side of the Leafs in recent years.
The Canadiens are 5-2 in the past 7 meetings, with the home team going 4-0 in the past 4, and the underdog going 5-2 in the past 7 in the series.