Canadiens-Maple Leafs Face-Off in Montreal Tonight for Game 3
The Maple Leafs certainly rose to the occasion in a big way on Saturday night, dominating the rival Canadiens in Game 2 of their best-of-seven playoff series. Toronto beat Montreal 5-1 in a game that wasn't even that close. Toronto dominated every single phase of the game.
Game 2 was the outcome many were expecting to see throughout this series, with the Maple Leafs proving they're clearly the superior team. Toronto skated into the playoffs after going wire-to-wire in first place in the North Division, while Montreal barely finished with a winning record and ended the season with a -9 negative goal differential.
The Maple Leafs' win was truly a team victory, especially with their captain out of the lineup with an injury (John Tavares suffered a brutal injury in Game 1 and remains out indefinitely). Five different Toronto players found the back of the net with goals. Meanwhile, goalie Jack Campbell allowed only one puck to slip past him on a meager 23 shots by Montreal, posting his first-ever career playoff victory.
Game 3 now moves to Montreal. But home ice hasn't meant much in the playoffs. With no spectators (a mandate from COVID restrictions and protocols), there's nothing to suggest any of these games in the North Division mean much when it comes to home-away factors.
As for Monday morning, Toronto is a -150 favourite tonight with a O/U total of 5.5 goals. Here's the odds breakdown at SPREADS.CA:
Prediction: Even though the previous game clipped our UNDER pick by a half-goal and resulted in a loss, we're returning to the same reasoning and betting the UNDER again. Even with an OVER in Game 2, these two teams have still gone 3-6-1 to the UNDER in their ten games this season. These two teams have also combined to go 50-59-to the UNDER in the regular season. With the added playoff intensity and the Maple Leafs still missing their captain, we should see another close game. It also appears Montreal's offense is having trouble getting shots on goal. Forecast – Toronto 3, Montreal 1.
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