Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Game preview, predictions and odds

The 2025-26 NHL season has officially started, and on Wednesday, the Montreal Canadiens are on the road to play the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET.

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Head-to-head & key stats

Montreal went 1-2-1 last season against Toronto
The Habs averaged 2.96 goals per game last season
Toronto went 27-13-1 at home last season
Montreal allowed 3.18 goals per game
The Maple Leafs averaged 3.25 goals per game
The Canadiens went 17-19-5 on the road
Toronto allowed 2.79 goals per game

Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Preview

Montreal made the playoffs last season and is looking to build off that. The Canadiens made a bold move to acquire Noah Dobson this offseason, while Montreal's other big move was trading for Zack Bolduc.

The Canadiens will start Sam Montembeault, who went 31-24-7 with a 2.82 GAA and a .901 SV% last season. He's 3-6 with a 3.89 GAA and a .892 SV% in his career against the Leafs.

Toronto has a different-looking team this season after Mitch Marner left in free agency. The Maple Leafs did add more depth to the bottom six by adding the likes of Nic Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Matias Maccelli.

The Maple Leafs will start Anthony Stolarz, who went 21-8-3 with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 SV% last season. He's 4-2 with a 2.32 GAA and a .918 SV% in his career against Montreal.

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Odds & Prediction

Montreal is a +140 underdog while Toronto is a -166 favorite, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Canadiens had a great season and have plenty of expectations of returning to the playoffs this year. However, this is a tough matchup as Toronto is expected to be one of the top teams again, and Stolarz should continue to be stellar as he was last season.

The Maple Leafs' offense will look a bit different without Marner, but Toronto should get out to an early lead and win a rather back-and-forth game.

Prediction: Maple Leafs 4, Canadiens 2.

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Toronto ML (-166)

Tip 2: Over 5.5 goals (-135)

Tip 3: Auston Matthews 4+ shots on goal (-135)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton

Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Game preview, predictions and odds | October 8, 2025

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Head-to-head & key stats

Montreal Canadiens vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Preview

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Odds & Prediction

Canadiens vs. Maple Leafs: Betting Tips