Matthews and the Maple Leafs look to clinch series against Montreal
Montreal Canadiens (24-21-11, fourth in the North Division during the regular season) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (35-14-7, first in the North Division during the regular season)
Toronto; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
LINE: Maple Leafs -283, Canadiens +432; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Maple Leafs lead series 3-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Toronto Maple Leafs look to clinch the first round of the NHL Playoffs over the Montreal Canadiens in game five. The teams meet Thursday for the 15th time this season. The Maple Leafs won the last matchup 4-0.
The Maple Leafs are 35-14-7 against division opponents. Toronto ranks second in the NHL averaging 6.0 assists per game, led by Mitchell Marner with 0.8.
The Canadiens are 24-21-11 against the rest of their division. Montreal ranks 24th in the NHL with 31.2 shots per game and is averaging 2.8 goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marner leads the Maple Leafs with 67 points, scoring 20 goals and adding 47 assists. Auston Matthews has six goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Toronto.
Tyler Toffoli leads the Canadiens with 44 points, scoring 28 goals and adding 16 assists. Nicholas Suzuki has four goals and four assists over the last 10 games for Montreal.
LAST 10 GAMES: Maple Leafs: 6-2-2, averaging 3.2 goals , 5.5 assists, 3.4 penalties and 8.1 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game with a .927 save percentage.
Canadiens: 2-6-2, averaging 1.8 goals , 2.9 assists, 3.7 penalties and 8.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.3 goals per game with an .892 save percentage.
INJURIES: Maple Leafs: Nick Foligno: day to day (lower body), John Tavares: out (head).
Canadiens: Eric Staal: day to day (undisclosed), Artturi Lehkonen: day to day (upper body), Jake Evans: day to day (undisclosed).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by
