Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Calgary Flames Prediction, NHL Odds
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to climb out of the basement in the Atlantic Division standings while posting consecutive wins for the first time in three weeks when they visit the Calgary Flames on Monday night in NHL action at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Maple Leafs snapped a six-game losing streak with Saturday’s 3-2 victory in Vancouver, but have failed to post back-to-back wins during a dismal 2-6-2 run that has left them knotted with Florida and Ottawa at the bottom of the division standings.
The Flames opened their current three-game home stand with Saturday’s 3-2 win over San Jose, halting a five-game slide that has left them mired in seventh place in the Pacific Division standings.
The Leafs arrive in Cowtown perched as razor-thin -115 favourites on Monday’s NHL odds. The Flames are pegged as a -105 bet on the NHL moneyline, and the total is listed at 6.5.
Maple Leafs vs. Flames NHL Betting Odds
The Leafs have dominated the Flames in recent seasons, posting seven head-to-head wins, capped by a 4-3 home victory back on October 28. The Leafs have also posted wins in seven of eight visits to Calgary including each of their past three, and have surrendered more than three goals just once over that stretch.
But with the total reaching 7.0 or higher in four of their past five dates at the Saddledome, the OVER has gone 4-1. The Leafs’ offensive woes continued on Saturday night, but produced just enough to get past a Canucks squad in freefall. Overall, Toronto has averaged just 2.43 goals per game over their past seven outings, and have seen five of the six losses over that stretch come by multi-goal margins while allowing over 4.5 goals per game.
But as bad as things have been for the Leafs, the Flames have been worse. Calgary has scored just 10 total goals while losing five of six, and potted just one marker in seven of their past 13 games, dumping them to the bottom of the NHL team stats with just 2.47 goals scored per game this season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs ran into a hot hand in Vancouver on Saturday, as rookie goaltender Nikita Tolopilo turned aside 39 of 41 shots before coming up short in the shootout in Toronto’s 3-2 win. The Maple Leafs’ barrage was their biggest since their 40-shot onslaught in a 3-2 loss to Detroit during the first week of the season, and marks a turnaround after averaging just 28 shots per game over their preceding 0-5-1 run.
That contest also marked the return of William Nylander, who missed the seven previous games due to a groin injury. Nylander failed to crack the scoresheet before finding the mark in the shootout, but tallied five shots on goal in an impressive return. While the smooth-skating Swede has been struggling through that groin injury for several weeks, the team produced when he is in the lineup, going 5-1-1 in their past seven, and 9-4-2 this season when Nylander enjoys a multi-point night.
Nylander has also feasted on the Flames, scoring eight goals and adding 17 assists during an 11-game head-to-head points streak. Accordingly, he should be taken as a lucrative +195 bet on the anytime goalscorer odds.
Calgary Flames
The Flames are also coming off a strong performance in Saturday’s win over the Sharks, in which they peppered San Jose netminder Alex Nedeljkovic with 42 shots. But Calgary still needed a comeback to seal the win.
Morgan Frost led the attack with a goal and an assist, and has remained among the most reliable producers on this club with four points over the past four games. The team leader in points, Nazem Kadri has work to do to snap out of a January funk. The former Leafs centre tallied just three total points last month and has scored just one total goal in 19 games since December 18.
Matt Coronato remains the club’s top goalscorer with 14 markers and has picked up three points over the past three games but failed to crack the scoresheet in consecutive games during a seven-point January.
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