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Thursday hockey has finally arrived! The Los Angeles Kings will head north of the border to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is time to take a look at our NHL odds series where our Kings-Maple Leafs prediction and pick will be made.
After enduring a disheartening loss to the Hurricanes 4-2 to wrap up a lengthy home stand, the Kings went out on the road and found success on Tuesday by downing the Ottawa Senators by a score of 5-2. With the hope that their effective offensive ways will carry over to tonight's matchup, the Kings have also experienced success as the visiting team with a decent 7-5-2 record. Can Los Angeles make it two straight and embark on a winning streak starting in Toronto?
With a 13-point streak on the line for tonight's bout, Toronto enters play on Thursday night after an impressive 4-0 shutout win over the Dallas Stars. On an absolute tear at the moment, the Maple Leafs are eager to give the home fans of Toronto something to cheer about where they have compiled an 8-2-3 record at Scotiabank Arena.
Here are the Kings-Maple Leafs NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Kings-Maple Leafs Odds
Los Angeles Kings: +1.5 (-16)
Toronto Maple Leafs: -1.5 (+134)
Over: 6 (-112)
Under: 6 (-108)
Why The Kings Could Cover The Spread
Simply put, the Kings could not have asked for a better start to their six-game road trip by overcoming the Senators with a plethora of shots on goal, a tremendous effort in net, and also remaining steady throughout the entire contest. At first glance, there's no doubt that LA will use many of the ingredients that they used to cook up success once again later this evening.
To begin, the Kings' best chance at covering the spread tonight will come in the form of playing a fast brand of hockey that leaves the Maple Leafs too stunned to even speak. On Tuesday, it appeared that the Kings focused in on hitting the Senators with an impeccable offensive attack that was impossible to slow down or even stop. This type of onslaught was led by left-winger Viktor Arvidsson, who netted a pair of goals in the victorious triumph and now has scored a total of seven goals on the season.
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Outside of another repeated effort on the offensive side of the ice, be on the lookout for Los Angeles to take the crowd out of it early by installing a physical brand of play that would force Toronto to be passive. At home versus Ottawa, the Kings were outhit 31-16 and were still able to find a way to take care of business. With that being said, if the Kings can out-physical the Leafs for the puck, they should be able to win and cover rather handily.
Why The Maple Leafs Could Cover The Spread
One of the hottest teams in all of the NHL, there appears to be nothing that the Maple Leafs cannot do out on the ice. Whether it was staying on the attack or eliminating the opposition's offensive opportunities, there are many reasons why Toronto has found themselves on an absolute roll of late with 13 straight points now residing in second place within the Atlantic Division.
In an inter-conference duel with a rather inconsistent Kings squad at times, the Leafs' golden ticket to covering the spread will fall on the shoulders of one player that is on as historic of a stretch that the league has seen in quite some time. Not needing an introduction, Mitchell Marner has remarkably recorded at least one point in 21 consecutive games and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down any time soon. In his last outing, the red-hot 25-year-old forward racked up his lone assist on the night and proved to be an offensive threat whenever he has his stick on the puck. Believe it or not, Marner isn't even considered to be the most electrifying player on the roster, which makes Toronto that much more terrifying.
Other than Marner and his history-making play, it is hard to argue that the Leaf's best option in covering the spread tonight will come from the dynamic play in Toronto's net. Not only do the Maple Leafs boast two more than capable goaltenders in Matt Murray and Illya Samsonov, but their overall body of work has been second to none. As a whole. Toronto has only surrendered 2.41 goals per game and are on a mission to prove that they are not a team that is a one-trick-pony.
Final Kings-Maple Leafs Prediction & Pick
A spread-covering victory would do wonders for both sides competing in this one, but the fact that the Leafs are on the brink of history in matching their most consecutive games with a point and also have won six of their last seven, it is hard to think that Toronto doesn't find a way to cover.
Final Kings-Maple Leafs Prediction & Pick: Maple Leafs -1.5 (+134)
