It is an Eastern Conference battle as the New Jersey Devils face the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Devils-Maple Leafs prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Devils come into the game sitting at 35-33-4 on the year, which is sixth in the Metropolitan Division. That also places them five points behind the Washington Capitals for the last Wild Card spot. They have won three of their last five though and last time out, the Devils faced the Islanders. After a scoreless first period, the Devils started scoring in the second. Timo Meier scored just 38 seconds into the period, and then less than two minutes later, he assisted Jack Hughes on a goal Alexander Holtz would add another, and make it 3-0 going into the third. In the third, Chris Tierney scored, and Kaapo Kahkonen stopped all 36 shots he faced as the Devils won 4-0.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs are 40-21-9 on the year, sitting third in the Atlantic Division, with a four-point lead over Tampa Bay for the third spot in the division. They are coming off a game with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes struck twice in the first period, with goals from Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho to make it 2-0 going into the second. After a scoreless second, Nicholas Robertson made it a one-goal game in the third. Still, Frederik Andersen would stop 32 of 33 shots as the Maple Leafs fell 2-1.
Here are the NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Devils-Maple Leafs Odds
New Jersey Devils: +1.5 (-200)
Moneyline: +122
Toronto Maple Leafs: -1.5 (+164)
Moneyline: -146
Over: 6.5 (-122)
Under: 6.5 (+100)
How to Watch Devils vs. Maple Leafs
Time: 7:30 PM ET/ 4:30 PM PT
TV: ESPN+/HULU
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Devils Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Devils sit 11th in the NHL this year in goals per game, scoring 3.26 goals per contest this year. Jack Hughes leads the team in points this year while leading the team in goals among active players. He has 24 goals on the year, which is two less than Tyler Toffoli, who was traded. He also has 45 assists on the year, good for 69 total points. That ties him for the most points, while he has played in just 56 of 72 games this year. Hughes also has nine goals and 22 assists on the power play. He is tied with Jesper Bratt. Bratt comes in with 23 goals and 46 assists, giving him 69 points. His assists numbers are the first on the team this year. Bratt has scored six times, and given out 19 assists on the power play this year.
Meanwhile, Nico Hischier has been solid. He comes into the game with 23 goals and 32 assists on the year, good for 55 total points. He also has six goals on the power play but added just eight assists. Timo Meir rounds out the top-scoring forwards. He sits with 23 goals and 20 assists on the year, good for 43 points. The Devils also get help on offense from the blue line. Luke Hughes has eight goals and 31 assists this year while having four goals and 18 assists on the power play.
The Devils sit tenth in the NHL this year on the power play. They have scored 22.8 percent of their power play chances this year. The Devils are 11th in the NHL on the penalty kill. They have an 81.2 percent success rate on the penalty kill this year.
Jake Allen is expected to be in goal for the Devils in this one. He is 9-14-3 on the year with a 3.41 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage. He has played in five games since coming over from Montreal. In those games, he is 3-2, and allowed two or fewer goals in four of the five games. Further, has had a save percentage over .940 in four of the five games as well.
Why The Maple Leafs Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Maple Leafs come into the game third in the NHL in goals per game this year, coming in with 3.61 goals per game. Auston Matthews leads the team in goals this year. He comes into the game with 58 goals on the year and added 34 assists. That places Matthews second on the team in points with 92. Further, he has been solid on the power play, with 15 goals and 11 assists in those situations. Meanwhile, William Nylander is first on the team in points this year. He comes into the game with 39 goals and 54 assists, good for 93 points on the year. Like Matthews, he has been solid on the power play, coming away with 11 goals and 23 assists on the power play. Further, he has three goals and an assist short-handed.
Mitchell Marner sits third on the team in points while sitting third in goals and second on the team in assists. He comes into the game with 25 goals on the year and 51 assists. Seven of the goals and 17 of the assists are on the power play this year. Further, the Maple Leafs get a lot of help on the offensive side of things from the blue line. Morgan Rielly comes into the game with seven goals on the year, while also sitting third on the team with 44 assists. That gives him 51 total points on the year, with 16 on the power play. He has just one goal on the power play but does have 15 assists.
The Maple Leafs are fifth in the NHL on the power play, sitting with a 25.6 percent success rate when up a man. Still, they have struggled on the penalty kill this year, coming in with just a 76.0 percent success rate, good for 27th in the NHL.
Ilya Samsonov is expected to be back in goal for this one. While he is considered day-to-day, he is projected as the starter to return from injury. Samsonov is 19-6-7 on the year with 3.12 goals against average and a .889 save percentage. He has been solid in March, coming away with a 5-1-1 record in seven starts, while having a 2.67 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Still, he has given up three or more goals in each of his last three starts.
Final Devils-Maple Leafs Prediction & Pick
The Devils are in dire need of a win to keep pace in the Wild Card chase. This does not mean the Maple Leafs do not need this game as well, but the Devils need it much more. Both teams can score in bunches. Further, both goalies are more than capable of giving up plenty of goals. While the Maple Leafs should get the win in this one, it should be a high-scoring game. That makes the best play in the total.
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Final Devils-Maple Leafs Prediction & Pick: Over 6.5 (-122)
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