The Toronto Maple Leafs open the 2024-25 NHL season on Wednesday in a classic rivalry matchup against the Montreal Canadiens.
The pregame narrative: Toronto is expected to return to the playoffs, while Montreal is expected to return to the draft lottery. The Leafs have dominated in the recent head-to-head results, but a good chunk of the games have been decided by just a goal.
Check out our Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens odds for the NHL season opener on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens odds
| Leafs/Canadiens markets | Odds |
| Maple Leafs moneyline | -188 |
| Canadiens moneyline | +155 |
| Maple Leafs -1.5 | +125 |
| Canadiens +1.5 | -154 |
| Over 6.5 goals | -112 |
| Under 6.5 goals | -106 |
Go to full NHL betting markets
Just like last year, the Maple Leafs and Canadiens meet up to open a new season.
In the 2023-24 iteration, Toronto won 6-5 in a shootout on home ice. The Leafs went on to sweep the season series, beating the Habs by scores of 3-2 and 4-2 in the ensuing matchups.
Beating the lowly Canadiens isn’t a yardstick for success, though. So after another abbreviated postseason run, the Maple Leafs ousted head coach Sheldon Keefe to bring in a former Stanley Cup winner, Craig Berube.
Toronto has a new backup goalie, as well as some new faces on the blue line and in the middle-six forward group. But the headliners, led by reigning Rocket Richard winner Auston Matthews, are the same.
On the other side, Montreal won’t see Patrik Laine debut for the team for at least a couple of months. He was on the wrong end of a knee-on-knee collision in a preseason game against Toronto on Sept. 28.
Seeing continued improvement from players like Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky is at the top of Montreal’s to-do list this year.
Betting notes
- Toronto has won five games in a row against Montreal — including all three last season.
- Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Matthews has five goals and 11 points in seven games against the Canadiens while averaging 4.0 shots/game. He scored a hat trick in last year’s season opener.
- Five of the past eight Toronto/Montreal matchups were one-game games.
- Sam Montembault, the likely starting goalie for the Canadiens, allowed seven goals on 39 shots (.821 SV%) against Toronto last season.
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.