The Sabres, winners of 5 road games in a row, are in Montreal to play the Habs, and the Golden Knights look to grab hold of their series
These are rough times for Toronto Maple Leafs fans, that stand to get even rougher.
The wealthiest team in the NHL missed the playoffs by a mile, fired their GM, hired a new GM earlier this week, John Chayka, who was met with a tsunami of stones and darts from pundits at a news conference introducing him.
The Leafs are a team, in the so-called centre of the hockey universe, that hasn’t won anything of substance in close to six decades. That explains some of the Leaf rage in these parts this spring. It’s like compound interest. Every spring that rage gets worse.
There was a respite last Tuesday, when the Leafs scored the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft Lottery.
That was eclipsed by news stories the past news days that their captain, Auston Matthews, isn’t sure he wants to stick around for what more and more looks like a rebuild.
Then, for Leafs fans, there was Friday night, watching Mitch Marner of the Vegas Golden Knights score a hat trick in a 6-2 win in Game 3 of their second round Western Conference series against the Anaheim Ducks.
Marner starred ten years for the Leafs, a 100-point winger who built a reputation for not showing up in playoff games, when the pressure ramped up.
Tired of playing in the cauldron that is hockey-mad Toronto, he bolted for Vegas as a free agent last summer.
Now he’s taking a flame thrower to that playoff reputation, under Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella.
And Leafs fans dread the image of Marner skating around the T-Mobile ice hoisting the Stanley Cup for the Golden Knights.
BEST BETS
Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens, 7 p.m., Bell Centre, Montreal
Series tied 1-1
In NHL betting, on Betway, the Canadiens are favourites at -120, the Sabres are +100. On the Puckline, the Canadiens are -1.5 (+185), the Sabres +1.5 (-250). The Over/Under is 5.5 (O -130, U +110).
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Sam Carrick is ready to return to the lineup, out since March 31 with an arm injury.
Buffalo opened the series with a 4-2 win on home ice, then the Habs bounced back in a big way Friday night, with a 5-1 win.
Alex Newhook scored twice, while Alexandre Carrier, Mike Matheson and Nick Suzuki each had singles. Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes also bounced back after a leaky Game 1, making 29 saves, with a .967 GAA.
Buffalo Sabres Moneyline +100
Playoff hockey is back in Montreal, which is a special thing.
The Sabres looked flat Friday, but they are a strong road team – three straight road wins in the opening round series against Boston to close them out (five road wins in a row now). They’ve looked comfortable in hostile environments, play noticeable tighter when protecting leads, or on the penalty kill.
And don’t sleep on Carrick’s return – he fills a bunch of needs, notably faceoffs, penalty killing, playoff grit and physicality. He’s Buffalo’s faceoff specialist. Carrick stabilized the Sabres’ bottom six after the Sabres brought him over from the Rangers in a deadline deal.
I’ve liked goalie Alex Lyon’s play so far during these playoffs – 4-2, 1.73 GAA, .934 SV% overall.
Prop: Nick Suzuki Over 2.5 Shots (+110)
BEST BETS
Vegas Golden Knights at Anaheim Ducks, 9:30 p.m., Honda Center, Anaheim
Vegas leads series 2-1
Under 6.5 goals
The Golden Knights are -115, the Ducks are -105. On the Puckline, Vegas is -1.5 (+185), the Ducks +1.5 (-250). The Over/Under is 6.5 (O -105, U -115).
I am surprised at that Vegas Moneyline, considering how much they dictated the pace Friday night, led by Marner, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone.
Still, Friday night was an outlier. Both teams have shown defensive structure – Vegas under Tortorella prefers low-risk defensive play.
Anaheim’s power play in the series is 0-11.
The series still leans tighter hockey – expect better goaltending and fewer odd-man rushes tonight.
Prop: Cutter Gauthier Total Goals Over 0.5 +165
