Montreal Canadiens at Toronto Maple Leafs Expert NHL Picks 2/23/2019

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Scotiabank Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Montreal Canadiens head to Scotiabank Arena to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Canadiens at +170 and the Maple Leafs at -205.

Montreal has a record of 33-21-7 this year. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 182 goals and surrendered 177 goals for a point differential of +5. For the year they have an ATS mark of 32-28-0 and an over/under record of 26-32-0. Toronto has a record of 36-20-4 this season. They are 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 210 goals and given up 170 for a goal differential of +40. Their record against the spread is 36-23-0 while their over/under mark is 27-28-0.

Valuable Montreal Canadiens Betting Trends

The Montreal Canadiens are 32-28-0 straight up this year

The Montreal Canadiens are 26-32-0 against the over/under this season

Important Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 36-23-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 27-28-0 against the over/under this season

Key Montreal Canadiens Injuries

02/09/19 LW Paul Byron Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

02/21/19 C Nazem Kadri Concussion is questionable Saturday vs Montreal

Player Spotlight

Tomas Tatar has scored 45 total points this year for the Canadiens. He has 20 goals this season with 157 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 16.3 minutes played per contest. Max Domi averages 17.4 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by tallying 20 goals on 136 attempts. He has 33 assists, giving him a total of 53 points on the year. Carey Price has 25 wins and 16 losses this season in goal for the Canadiens. He has 1,403 shots against him and he's surrendered 116 goals. He's made 1,287 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Morgan Rielly has 58 total points this season for the Maple Leafs. He has 15 goals this year with 156 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 43 assists on the year and averages 22.8 minutes played per contest. Mitch Marner averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 21 goals on 164 attempts. He has 48 assists, giving him a total of 69 points on the year. Frederik Andersen has 27 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Maple Leafs. He has 1,420 shots against him and he's given up 110 goals. He's made 1,310 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Canadiens have 73 total points this year, which is 10th in the NHL. They've scored 182 goals while giving up 177 scores, which has them ranked 14th and 19th respectively. They have had 189 power play chances and scored 24 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 13%. That is 31st in the league. The Canadiens have given up 194 power play opportunities and surrendered 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 19th when short-handed. They average 33 shots per contest and as a team shoot 8.96% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 9th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs are 7th in the league with a total of 76 points this season. They have 33 power play goals on 158 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 14th in the NHL. They've given up 154 power play opportunities and surrendered 29 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 11th overall. As a team, the Maple Leafs are 4th with a total of 210 goals scored while they've given up 170 goals this season, ranking 24th in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.93%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 5th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Montreal is 4th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 53%, as they've attempted 3,892 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,452 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.9% as they have 2,774 attempts while they have given up 2,570 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 7th in the league. The Canadiens start possessions in the offensive zone 52.3% of the time, which is 10th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.7% for the season. That is 22nd overall in the NHL. They have 1,756 face-off wins compared to 1,914 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.8%. That ranks them 28th in the league. On defense Montreal has 1,644 hits and they have blocked 882 shots from the opposition, putting them 12th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Maple Leafs are 15th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.8% for the season, which is 17th in the NHL. They have 1,928 face-off wins compared to 1,723 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.8%. That is 2nd in the league. On defense Toronto has 1,009 hits and they have blocked 821 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Toronto is 8th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.6% as they've attempted 3,847 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,613 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.4% ranks 15th as they have 2,842 attempts while they have given up 2,792 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Canadiens/Maple Leafs NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Montreal +170

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald