{"id":373750,"date":"2025-10-07T11:09:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T15:09:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/?p=373750"},"modified":"2025-10-07T11:09:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T15:09:31","slug":"canadiens-vs-maple-leafs-prop-picks-october-8-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.northstargaming.ca\/admin\/nsgcms\/canadiens-vs-maple-leafs-prop-picks-october-8-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs season-opening prop picks: Back Auston Matthews, Matias Maccelli in Toronto on Oct. 8"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens kick off their seasons on Wednesday with an Original Six grudge match at Scotiabank Arena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pregame narrative<\/strong>: The “Core Four” era in Toronto is over, but Craig Berube’s group is still favoured to win at home. Montreal exceeded all expectations last year, securing a playoff spot after putting together a strong second half, and it aims to snap a three-game losing streak against its rival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out my Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs prop picks for Wednesday’s season opener, featuring Auston Matthews<\/a> and Matias Maccelli<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs picks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Best bet: Matthews to score (+110)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a huge season for Matthews’ legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toronto’s captain had a “down year” in 2024-25, scoring 33 goals in 67 games. Most players would kill for numbers like that, but expectations are higher for a three-time Rocket Richard winner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, Matthews looks to get back to his goal-scoring ways without Mitch Marner, who joined the Vegas Golden Knights as a free agent this offseason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Losing an elite playmaker will hurt Matthews’ bottom line, but when healthy, he’s still one of the best to ever do it. And his linemates, Matthew Knies and Maccelli aren’t exactly scrubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The centre says he’s feeling “good” ahead of this season, so I’ll take his word for it because you’re not going to find him with +110 odds to score if he gets on a roll later in the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the three years before his injury-riddled 2024-25 campaign, Matthews scored 169 goals in 228 games. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key stat:<\/strong> Matthews has scored six goals in his last seven games against Montreal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n