Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction: The Maple Leafs are playing much stronger

Prediction for the NHL Montreal Canadiens vs Toronto Maple Leafs match which will take place on April 7th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Montreal has been one of the league's annual underdogs in recent years. Not long ago, the Canadiens lost the Stanley Cup Final, after which they went into a slump and began to post poor results. They haven't tried to hint at contending for Cup spots throughout the regular season. They have suffered long losing streaks, but they still had a decent run at the end of the season. Martin St. Louis's charges won four times in their last six meetings, losing only to Carolina and Tampa Bay by 3:0 and 7:4 scores. Despite such a productive stretch, Montreal remains in 15th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Toronto is a much more ambitious team, so there's no doubt that the Maple Leafs will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs. A year ago, they broke the curse that kept them out of the first round of the playoffs for nearly two decades. And now they intend to perform well in the Cup battles, for which it is desirable to get the highest seeding they try to do at the end of the regular season. In the last eight meetings, Sheldon Keefe's wards allowed only three defeats in five cases celebrated success. 

Montreal and Toronto are not comparable opponents in the current regular season. The Canadiens - the clear outsiders of the league, occupying only 15th place in the Eastern Conference standings, and they have long had no motivation. Therefore, they quietly wait to go on vacation. The Maple Leafs are playing much stronger; they are fighting for the highest place before the start of the Cup battles and, therefore, need points. 

Montreal has not often spoiled us with bright and productive matches lately. Only twice they overcame the bookmakers' top in the last eight battles involving the Canadiens (25%). Moreover, in five of the previous seven meetings, St. Louis scored less than two pucks or missed, so there is no reason to expect a shootout. The Maple Leafs are already systematically preparing for the playoffs, so they will unlikely be on the attack.