Maple Leafs: 35-14-7, 77 points
Canadiens: 24-21-11, 59 points
Season series: TOR 7-2-1; MTL 3-6-1
Game 1: Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SN, TVAS)
The Maple Leafs and Canadiens will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 15th time but the first since 1979.
Toronto won the Scotia North Division, its first division title since winning the Northeast Division in 2000, when it lost in six games to the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Maple Leafs have not won a playoff series since 2004, including losing in five games to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers last season.
Each team comes into the series well-rested. The Maple Leafs will have had six days between games when they play Game 1, while the Canadiens will have had eight days off.
"We are going to play against a Montreal team that is going to be refreshed and revived," Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said. "They are finally going to get a break and some time off here. They have had a very difficult schedule. We are going to see a much different-looking Montreal team than what we just went through with them."
RELATED: [Complete Maple Leafs vs. Canadiens series coverage]
Keefe said the knowledge the two teams have with each other from their 10 regular-season games makes playoff preparations unique from previous seasons.
"These types of weeks usually get crowded with meetings and discussions of that nature," he said. "This is a little bit different given we are playing an opponent we are very familiar with.
"The practices are important, and we will get things ramped up again."
The Canadiens brought high hopes into the season after advancing to the Stanley Cup First Round last season, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in four games in the qualifiers before losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in six games. They finished fourth in the North, going 4-6-2 in their final 12 games.
But help is on the way with key players returning from injuries. Coach Dominique Ducharme said Saturday he is confident defenseman Shea Weber, who missed the final eight games with an upper-body injury, will be ready to start the series. He said he also expects goalie Carey Price, who has not played since he sustained a concussion in Edmonton on April 19, to be in the lineup for Game 1.
Forwards Brendan Gallagher and Phillip Danault will also play. Gallagher has not played since breaking his right thumb April 5; Danault has been out since sustaining a concussion May 6.
"We have experience, we have youth we rely on, we have the best goaltender in the world, and we have a lot of guys who'll compete," Gallagher said. "When you bring that into a series, we're confident."
