The Toronto Maple Leafs look to keep a six-game winning streak alive as they head to Calgary to take on the Flames tonight. It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Maple Leafs-Flames prediction and pick.
Both teams are red hot right now, as the Calgary Flames are playing a back-to-back game tonight after coming off of a huge 6-0 shutout victory against the Vegas Golden Knights last night. This will be the second of a seven-game homestand for the Flames after coming out of the All-Star break. Toronto comes into this game after an overtime win at home on Monday against the Hurricanes, looking to add onto a hefty win streak of their own.
Here are the Maple Leafs-Flames NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Maple Leafs-Flames
Toronto Maple Leafs: -1.5 (+172) (-140 ML)
Calgary Flames: +1.5 (-220) (+116 ML)
Over: 6.5 (+100)
Under: 6.5 (-122)
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Why The Maple Leafs Can Cover The Spread/Win
In the midst of a 7-1-0 run, the Maple Leafs look much better than what their comfortable 3rd place in the Atlantic Division and 63 points give them credit for. While Toronto does tend to struggle defensively, the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander have helped drive Maple Leafs' offensive output to 4th best in the league, and their powerplay to a 30.1% success rate, the highest in the league. The issue in Toronto comes up in their defensive play. For a while now, it seems as if the Leafs have had a “the best defense is a better offense” type of mentality, which will need to be fixed before the trade deadline this year, or the Leafs will be looking at yet another first-round exit in the playoffs.
The goaltending hasn't been consistent either, winning games purely off of the help from the offensive superstars. It's unclear who will get the start tonight, but one can assume it'll be Jack Campbell, even though he hasn't been playing well and was replaced by Petr Mrazek for Monday's overtime win against the Hurricanes. Regardless of who's in net, the Maple Leafs will once again look to get all systems firing and just try to outscore the Flames.
Why The Flames Can Cover The Spread/Win
Calgary's dominant win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday just proves that this team is not to be underestimated. They're currently sitting in 4th place in the Pacific Division, but just one point away from the number two slot behind Vegas. Calgary's top line, Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm has arguably been the best in the league so far, and have been the driving force of their 10th ranked highest offensive output this season. Because their number one goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, played last night, backup Dan Vladar will defend between the pipes for the second leg of their back-to-back game. In just nine games this season, Vladar is 6-2-1 with a .911 save percentage, and averaging 2.64 goals against. As long as he can limit Toronto's scoring opportunities, the Flames have a chance to cover a favorable 1.5 spread at home.
Final Maple Leafs-Flames Prediction & Pick
Both Toronto and Calgary consistently put the puck in the back of the net. While on their six-game winning streak, the Maple Leafs have covered the over five out of six of those games, while the Flames are 2-1-1 during the four-game win streak of their own. It'll definitely be a battle to get there, but this is an excellent contest where both of these teams strive on offense and should be able to cover the over. Take it now while the odds are in your favor.
Final Maple Leafs-Flames Prediction & Pick: Over 6.5 (+100)
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