Montreal Canadiens
Perestroika has a big influence on the “glorious”. They have suffered a defeat for the second season in a row, with three games left before the end of the regular season, they are second to last in the East, and another reason for the poor performance is the sickbay overcrowded almost all season. Montreal also failed in the final home series, allowing Carolina and Detroit to issue shutdowns, while away the San Louis team fares even worse and have only been able to score in 7 of their previous 24 away games.
Maple leaves from Toronto
Toronto holds the regular season, finishing in the top five in the East. Below “wild” will not fall, so they can be satisfied with the current situation. It’s possible that Keif’s team hasn’t been particularly tense lately, alternating wins and losses throughout Game 10, and now it’s time to win. This season, the hosts beat Montreal on their ice 5-1 with no questions asked and are generally strong at home, ranking in the top three of the conference by that metric.
Forecast
Montreal will not be able to compete with Toronto now. Personnel losses do not allow the “glorious” to show decent results, and now the season for them is almost over. Toronto has a difficult away streak ahead of them, so it’s better and easier to win at home with support, where the Boars have regularly beaten Montreal in recent years and now outperform their opponent on all lines.