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The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their tour of New York as they face the New York Rangers. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Maple Leafs-Rangers prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Maples Leafs enter the game at 14-65 on the year. Last time out, they faced the New York Islanders. The Maple Leafs took the early lead with an Auston Matthews power play goal, but the Islanders would strike twice to make it 2-1 going into the second. Just 1:10 into the second Kyle Palmieri scored to make it 3-1. John Tavares answered back with a goal, and then with just seven seconds left in the game, he added an assist to Morgan Rielly. That tied the game, plus put him at 1,000 career points. Still, in overtime, Bo Horvat scored just 46 seconds in to give the Islanders the 4-3 win.
Meanwhile, the Rangers come into the game sitting at 19-6-1. Last time out, they faced the Los Angeles Kings. There was no scoring in the first period, but Mika Zibanejad scored in the second on the power play to break the tie. The Rangers would add another goal in the second as well. In the third, the Kings score to make it 2-1, but that would be the only goal Jonathan Quick would let in. The former Kings goalie stopped 25 of 26 shots, as the Rangers won 4-1.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Maple Leafs-Rangers Odds
Toronto Maple Leafs: +140
New York Rangers: -170
Over: 6.5 (+110)
Under: 6.5 (-134)
How to Watch Maple Leafs vs. Rangers
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: NHLPP/ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Maple Leafs Will Win
The Maple Leafs have scored well this year, sitting ninth in the NHL in goals per game this year. They are averaging 3.32 goals per game this year. Leading the goal-scoring this year is Auston Matthews. He is first on the team in goals this year while sitting second in total points on the year. Matthews comes in with 19 goals on the season, with nine assists, good for 28 points. He has also been amazing on the power play this year, with seven goals and three assists on the power play this season.
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The team leader in points this year is William Nylander. He is second on the team in goals and leads the team in points and assists. He has 13 goals on the year with 21 assists, good for 34 points. Like Mathtews, he has been a heavy contributor to the power play. He has five goals and eight assists on the power play this year. Sitting tied for second on the team in assists this year are Mitchell Marner and John Tavares. Marner comes in with nine goals and his 17 assists, good for 26 points. Meanwhile, Tavares comes in with eight goals with his 17 assists for 25 points.
The power play has been a big source of goals for the Maple Leafs. They are seventh in the NHL this year in power play conversion, sitting at 24.7 percent this year. Meanwhile, they have scored 18 goals when man up. The penalty kill has not been as solid, as they sit 15th in the NHL with an 80.8 percent success rate.
It will be Martin Jones in goal for the Maple Leafs today. He is 1-0-0 on the year with a 6.23 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. In his only action of the year, he entered the game with Ottawa and played 9:38. He allowed one goal on ten shots, but was credited with the win.
Why The Rangers Will Win
The Rangers are 13th in the NHL in goals scored per game this year, with 3.27 goals this year. This year, Artemi Panarin is the leader in goals, assists, and points. Panarin comes in with 16 goals, 22 assists, and a total of 38 points this year. He has been great on the power play this season, with four goals and 12 assists this year on the power play. Meanwhile, second on the team in goals is Chris Kreider. He comes in with 14 goals this year and eight assists, good for 22 points this season. He is the leader in power-play goals this year, coming in with seven of them, while also having two power-play assists and two short-handed goals on the year.
Second on the team in points and assists this year is Vincent Trocheck. He comes into the game with six goals and 19 assists on the year. That gives him 25 points while he has scored four on the power play, with five assists. The Rangers also get offensive help from the blue line. Adam Fox enters the game with three goals this year and 14 assists, good for 17 points. Meanwhile, Erik Gustafsson comes in with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points this year.
The Rangers have been solid on the power play this year. They are second in the NHL with a 30.0 percent conversion rate on the season and 24 power-play goals. They have also been solid on the penalty kill, sitting seventh in the NHL with an 84.7 percent success rate.
Igor Shesterkin will be in goal today for the Rangers. He is 10-6-0 on the year with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage. He has struggled some as of late though. In his three starts this month, Shesterkin has allowed 12 goals on 104 shots, good for 4.04 goals against average and a .885 save percentage. He has also gone 1-2 in those games.
Final Maple Leafs-Rangers Prediction & Pick
Tronto comes into this game with a goalie who has played very little this year. With Joseph Woll out, Martin Jones will be playing a lot more. Jones has shown himself to be a capable goaltender in years past, but still not one of the league's beasts. The Rangers are one of the best teams in the NHL and can put off goals in bunches. Even if Shesterkin continues to struggle, they have the firepower to score plenty of goals and take the win in this one. Expect this to be a higher-scoring game, with lots of shots on goals for both teams and the Rangers coming out on top.
Final Maple Leafs-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers ML (-170)
