Toronto's William Nylander and Montreal's Cole Caufield headline Best Bets options for Wednesday's season opener between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens.
Hockey fans get more NHL action Wednesday with a loaded slate of marquee matchups featuring some of the biggest teams and rivalries in the league with the biggest being the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on the Montreal Canadiens.
It should set up to be a thrilling night of games with several chances to hit it big and win cash along the way. We're looking to build off a successful first night of games on Tuesday as well as some player props from last season in Mitch Marner, Mark Scheifele, Wyatt Johnston, Rasmus Dahlin, Teuvo Teravainen and Connor Hellebuyck.
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Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs Best Bets:
Over 6.0 goals (-110)
William Nylander anytime goal (+150)
Cole Caufield Over 0.5 Points (-133)
Dakota Joshua anytime goal (+550) - Longshot Pick
The Maple Leafs have dominated this matchup as of late with wins in eight of their last nine matchups, including a three-game winning streak entering Wednesday's season opener. Last season, Montreal edged out a low-scoring 1-0 victory in the season opener despite a history of high-scoring affairs with six or more goals in eight of their last 14 matchups. We can expect another shootout to start the season as the Maple Leafs will be looking to figure out their lineup with a very different looking forward group without superstar Mitch Marner, who left in free agency.
Toronto's lineup will showcase some fresh additions in Matias Maccelli, Dakota Joshua, and Nick Roy, giving one of these newcomers a prime opportunity to make an early impression. Joshua, in particular, could be an intriguing longshot option for the Maple Leafs if the game turns into a high-scoring affair. Skating alongside Max Domi and Nick Robertson on a fast, aggressive forechecking third line, he has the potential to catch Montreal off guard. Notably, Joshua has scored in two of his last four matchups against the Canadiens.
The Habs have also made notable adjustments to their lineup, adding a former 70-point defenseman in Noah Dobson on the backend as well as an off-season of NHL training with Calder trophy favourite Ivan Demidov, who will join Montreal's top six forwards.
In net for Montreal will be their regular starter in Sam Montembeault, who routinely struggles against Toronto with a 3-6-0 record, a 3.89 goals against average and a .892 save percentage in ten career matchups. This should give an edge to the Maple Leafs, who excelled when at home last season with a 27-13-1 record held up by exceptional play out of star winger William Nylander, who scored in nearly half his home games with 25 goals in 41 home games.
The Swedish superstar has enjoyed playing against Montreal, with goals in two of their last three meetings and a total of 12 points, including six goals and six assists, in his past 11 games against the Canadiens. Despite the departure of Marner, Nylander will still be playing with his same center from last season in John Tavares and will still have forward Bobby McMann on his opposite wing.
For Montreal's goals, we can look to star winger Cole Caufield as his history versus Toronto has soured as of late but is worth noting. Prior to going three straight matchups without a point, Caufield owned the Maple Leafs with the only goal in last season's opener. His previous stretch of dominance included eight games where he tallied eight goals and three assists for a total of 11 points.
Montreal’s top line of Caufield with Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky finished last season on a tear, driving the Canadiens’ late push into the playoffs before falling to the Washington Capitals in five games. If that chemistry carries over, Caufield and company should once again keep Montreal in the mix during what promises to be a fast-paced, high-scoring season opener for both clubs.
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