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A premier Eastern Conference tilt will have the attention of the hockey world on Thursday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the New York Rangers in the Big Apple. Let's check out our NHL odds series where our Maple Leafs-Rangers prediction and pick will be unveiled.
Fresh off of one of their more proficient outings of the season in a 7-0 shutout win over the Ducks the last time they were out on the ice, Toronto showed the league first-hand how lethal they can be when they are clicking on all cylinders. With the dominant victory, the Maple Leafs now possess a 19-5-6 record and sit comfortably in the second-place spot in the Atlantic Division coming into today.
As for the Rangers, New York's record was looking a little ghastly before stringing together four-consecutive victories to give this squad a sense of confidence that they have not felt before so far this year. Thanks to the splendid stretch of play, New York is now 15-10-5 and will look to improve their record at home that only sits at 6-6-4.
Here are the Maple Leafs-Rangers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Maple Leafs-Rangers Odds
Toronto Maple Leafs: -1.5 (+186)
New York Rangers: +1.5 (-235)
Over: 6 (-115)
Under: 6 (-105)
Why The Maple Leafs Could Cover The Spread
While the Rangers may be streaking of late, now is not the time to sleep on the Maple Leafs. In fact, Toronto also enters tonight's showdown with four-straight victories and are in the midst of a stretch where they have scored at least five goals in their previous three games. As a whole, Toronto is starting to transform themselves into an extreme threat offensively of late to whoever they suit up against as the Maple Leafs usually average roughly 3.33 goals per game which isn't as many as you would think. Believe it or not, that statistic is only the twelfth-most in the entire league. However, this explosive offense is starting to click and is as scary as any team in North America at the moment with the puck in their possession.
With the offense buzzing like a bee, Toronto is able to put more pressure on teams who begin to sense an urgency to score the puck. No question, the Maple Leafs calling card this season has come on the defensive side of the ice and their goaltending prowess to be more specific. As it stands, Toronto is only surrendering 2.30 goals per game and are led by one of the hottest net-minders in hockey in Ilya Samsonov. To this point of the season, Samsonov has let up only 1.70 scores per contest and boasts a save percentage of .939 which is tops in the league. Without a doubt, there are little to none goalies having as dominant of a season than the 25-year-old Russian.
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Not to mention, but Mitchell Marner is also making history with his team-record points streak now reaching an unfathomable 24 games. Against the Ducks, Marner recorded two assists and is now only the 12th player in NHL history with a point streak of at least 23 games.
Why The Rangers Could Cover The Spread
At first glance, the Rangers have taken a recipe straight from Toronto's winning cookbook and are attempting to make a Christmas push out on the ice before the New Year arrives. While the Rangers' game plan will be to somehow stop Marner and his ability to make things happen offensively by swarming him every chance they get, this also isn't New York's first rodeo when it comes to going up against a player with a point streak on the line.
Versus the Devils, it was center Jack Hughes who was able to extend his point streak to eight games but ended up being stonewalled by Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin on a penalty shot that gave New York a chance to rally late. Conversely, the Rangers could care less about an opponent and a point streak if they can just handle their business and not dig themselves in a hole in the early going of the contest.
Even if the Rangers do find themselves trailing at any point in this one, their six total comeback wins so far have set the tone for a team that rarely gives up and oftentimes gets even stronger as the game goes on. While there are definitely things to fix out on the ice, it is always nice to have someone on your roster like left-winger Artemi Panarin. Not only does Panarin lead the club with 29 assists and 35 points total, but he has also quietly received at least one point in six-straight contests and serves as one of the more dynamic skaters that the Rangers have. If Panarin is given some space and no one puts a body on him throughout the night, then it could spell game over for Toronto.
Final Maple Leafs-Rangers Prediction & Pick
With the fact that you can never count the Rangers out of a game in large part due to they never give up attitude, siding with New York as +1.5 goal underdogs is a good pick.
Final Maple Leafs-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers +1.5 (-235)
