Thursday NHL Opening Odds
(The Spread) – A total of six games are on the NHL schedule Thursday night and it includes a matchup between two of Canada’s fiercest rivals.
Two of the Original Six clash Thursday as the Montreal Canadiens (32-22-7) entertain the Toronto Maple Leafs (26-27-7) at 7:30PM EST. Oddsmakers and online sports book Sportsbook.com have determined Montreal is a -150 favorite, while the over-under rests at 5.5.
Montreal has proven to be tough to beat home this season as it is 19-7-6 in its own building. Toronto, on the other hand, has posted a record of 12-16-1 in road contests. The latest trends show that Montreal is 18-34-9 on over-unders for the 2010-11 campaign and Toronto is 26-32-2 on over-unders.
After dropping its previous three contests in a row, the Canadiens snapped the skid in emphatic fashion Tuesday night with a 3-2 victory at NHL-best Vancouver. The Maple Leafs have played solid hockey as of late, winning three of their previous four games. Toronto’s only loss during the the stretch is a 1-0 overtime defeat Sunday against Ottawa, but the Maple Leafs rebounded Tuesday by defeating the New York Islanders 1-0 at home.
Leading Toronto into action is Clarke MacArthur, who has 18 goals and 28 assists on the season. Teammate Mikhail Grabovski has accounted for 24 goals and 20 assists. Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec leads his squad with 19 goals and 27 assists.
In other NHL action, Vancouver tries to get back on track as it hosts St. Louis at 10:00PM EST. The Canucks are -210 favorites and the over-under is 5.5. The Philadelphia Flyers, who are only one point behind Vancouver for the NHL’s best record, is home against the New York Islanders at 7:00PM EST. The Flyers are -240 favorites with an over-under of 5.5.
Opening NHL Money Line Odds & Over/Under Totals for Thursday, February 24
1 New York Islanders +200 (5.5)
2 Philadelphia Flyers -240
3 Toronto Maple Leafs +130 (5.5)
4 Montreal Canadiens -150
5 Dallas Stars +190 (5.5)
6 Detroit Red Wings -230
7 Chicago Blackhawks -105 (5.5)
8 Nashville Predators -115
9 Minnesota Wild +145 (5)
10 Los Angeles Kings -165
11 St. Louis Blues +175 (5.5)
12 Vancouver Canucks -210
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