Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers Prediction, NHL Odds
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to snap a five-game losing streak that has devastated their playoff hopes when they wrap up a two-game road trip with a Thursday night date with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The Leafs make the short trip to the Big Apple after dropping a 4-3 shootout decision in New Jersey on Wednesday night, leaving them eight points out of the Eastern Conference wild card hunt with just 20 games remaining on the schedule.
Buried in last place in the East, the Rangers wrap up a five-game home stand after falling 5-4 to Columbus on Monday night, and have now lost six of seven overall with each of their past three contests getting settled after 60 minutes.
The Rangers lead the way as slender -120 favourites on Thursday’s NHL odds. The Maple Leafs sport strong +100 odds on the NHL moneyline, and the total is listed at 6.0.
Maple Leafs vs. Rangers NHL Betting Odds
The Leafs eked out a 2-1 victory in their first meeting of the season with the Rangers on October 16 at Scotiabank Arena, extending their current head-to-head win streak to three games, and have seven of nine overall meetings including victories in four straight visits to MSG.
However, those wins have been hard fought, with five of them coming by one-goal margins. Success has eluded the Leafs since their return from the Olympic break, with the club allowing 4.20 goals per game during a 0-3-2 swoon that includes three straight road losses, and coming up short in 13 of 17 contests since January 12.
Things have gone equally bad for the Rangers, who have lost 17 of 21 since Christmas Day including eight of 10 at home, while also allowing over four goals per game.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Now faced with the impending reality of a lost season, and with the NHL trade deadline just hours away, the Leafs held three of their most tradable commodities out of the lineup in Tuesday’s loss to the Devils including forwards Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton and veteran rearguard Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who are also likely to miss Thursday’s game, barring any deals before puck drop.
On a positive note, Matthew Knies maintained his steady post-break production on Wednesday, scoring once, and has now tallied three markers and three assists over his past six games. William Nylander also scored for the third time in as many games, and Auston Matthews picked up his seventh assist in eight games, but the former Rocket Richard Trophy winner has scored just once in 13 outings.
New York Rangers
Youngster Gabe Perreault enjoyed his best night of the season in Monday’s loss to the Blue Jackets, scoring twice and adding an assist to end an 11-game goalscoring drought. The 20-year-old has mustered just 11 total points in 27 games this season, but with an uptick in ice time, he offers upside as a +130 bet on the NHL player props to pick up at least a point on Thursday.
However, the Rangers could use more production out of leading scorer Mika Zibanejad, who has tallied just one goal and no helpers in four games but has picked up 17 points in his past 12 home appearances.
With the club playing on consecutive nights. Jonathan Quick is expected to get the call in the crease. Quick has earned just one win in his past 15 starts but is coming off an impressive 41-save performance in the club’s 2-0 loss to Carolina on February 5.
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