Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, NHL Odds
Toronto is a perfect 4-0 following the 4 Nations break, capped by 3-2 road win over the Rangers on Friday night. We’re writing this Saturday afternoon before Pittsburgh hosts Boston, but the season has been lost for quite some time for the Penguins, who sit dead last in the Metropolitan Division standings.
The line hasn’t opened for this game yet, but with Pittsburgh playing the second half of a back-to-back, you can be sure the Maple Leafs will be favoured to win on the NHL odds.
Maple Leafs vs. Penguins NHL Betting Odds
These teams split a pair of meetings earlier this season, with the home team emerging victorious. Overall, however, the Leafs have won three of the last four head-to-heads, outscoring the Pens 16-9 in the process.
Toronto has been the better cover option this season, but not by much. The Maple Leafs are 31-28 against the spread, with Pittsburgh sitting at 29-32 ATS.
If you’re looking at the futures market, I like Toronto to win the Atlantic Division at +105. It’s a three-way race between the Leafs, Panthers and Lightning, but Toronto has the edge at the moment.
I really tried to make a case for some sort of futures bet for the Penguins, but I just can’t find anything of value to recommend. If you really want to take a risk you could take the Pens to make the playoffs at a whopping +2200. Just know what you’re getting yourself into, however, as Pittsburgh is currently nine points out of the playoffs and they would need to leapfrog seven teams in the standings to claim to Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthew Knies played the hero for Toronto at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, scoring the game-winning goal a little over six minutes into the third period. William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson also tickled the twine, while Anthony Stolarz stood his ground with 33 saves on 35 shots. Captain Auston Matthews recorded an assist to extend his point streak to eight games, although he’s scored just once since returning for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Leafs are playing a back-to-back in Pittsburgh on Sunday and at home against San Jose on Monday, so Stolarz and Joseph Woll will each get a start. Both goalies have dealt with injury issues this season, but have been great when healthy. Stolarz is 13-5-2 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .927 save percentage. Woll is 20-11-0 with a 2.63 GAA and .910 SV.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Again, this is written before Pittsburgh hosts Boston on Saturday, so there could always be additional injuries. I don’t expect the Penguins to put up much of a fight in this game even though it’s against general manager Kyle Dubas’ former team. If you’re looking for any positivity it’s Pittsburgh’s surprisingly strong power play, which ranks eighth in the NHL with a 24.3 per cent success rate.
Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to get the start on Saturday against the Bruins, which means the Pens will likely play Joel Blomqvist on Sunday versus Toronto. To put it bluntly, both goalies have been terrible this season. Blomqvist is sporting a dreadful 3.63 GAA and .890 SV, while Nedeljkovic has a 3.22 GAA and .891 SV. Pick your poison because the Leafs will light up whichever goalie Pittsburgh goes with.
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