Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Minnesota Wild Prediction, NHL Odds
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Edgar Chaput
One would think that with the Boston Bruins taking a step back this season, the door would be open for the Toronto Maple Leafs to challenge the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division. Not so. The latest setback was a 4-2 defeat away to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Things don’t get any easier as the Minnesota Wild are flying high with a 7-1-2 tally. They were in action on Friday against the Lightning and won 5-3.
Minnesota is considered the favourite by our NHL odds. The Wild are -1.5 on the puck line and -115 on the moneyline.
Maple Leafs vs. Wild NHL Betting Odds
It’s been nearly a year since Toronto and Minnesota duelled on the ice. Their last encounter was on Nov. 19, 2023, when the Leafs got the better of the Wild 4-3 on the road in overtime. That marked the Ontario-based ensemble’s fifth consecutive victory over their rivals. To that point, the Wild have only won twice in 10 tries against the Maple Leafs.
Toronto has been a tricky proposition for betters this season. The 6-5-1 straight-up tally hasn’t helped, but nor have the fruit of their efforts against the puck line given the 7-5 record. For a team with so much firepower in the lineup, they only rank 14th in the NHL in goals for per game – although 3.17 is not necessarily a bad average. Curiously, Toronto’s power play is the worst, operating at only 7.9 per cent efficiency.
By the same token, the Wild have the third-worst penalty-killing performance at 66.7 per cent. Luckily they are a disciplined bunch, taking the second-least amount of penalty minutes so far (54). Betters can trust the Wild a bit more given the club’s 7-3 ATS tally. Forward Kirill Kaprizov is in a three-way tie for the NHL lead in points with 21 (seven goals and 14 assists).
Toronto Maple Leafs
Saturday could have been a measure of revenge for the Leafs, who had been embarrassed 5-1 at home by the Blues a little over a week before. But they and head coach Craig Berube, who used to lead St. Louis, will have to wait for that day to come as the Blues took the game 4-2.
Mitch Marner finally got his second of the season by slotting home a rebound early in the first period to open the scoring. John Tavares might have double the advantage had it not been for some fine stops by Jordan Binnington. The Blues netminder would prove to be the difference maker, as he repelled 35 of the 37 attempts the Leafs sent his way.
Toronto experienced a disastrous middle frame, coughing up a trio of goals – two of which were one-timers from long range – that put them behind 3-1. They fought back in the third period with a goal from Steven Lorentz (second) who was in the right spot at the right time to pounce on another rebound. Almost everything went Toronto’s way but the goals simply wouldn’t come when they needed them.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild had a big test on Friday night at home when the Tampa Bay Lightning paid a visit. The latter has been navigating the post-Steven Stamkos era with aplomb.
It took a while for the hosts to get going. The first period ended 1-0 in favour of the visitors, but the Wild levelled the terms in the middle frame via a wicked one-timer from Joel Eriksson Ek (fifth).
The third period was when things got wild, pardon the pun. Brock Faber (second) gave Minnesota the lead via a wrist shot with eyes that went through traffic. Tampa would tie it, but Kaprizov (sixth) would pounce on a loose puck amid traffic in the crease for a 3-2 lead. An empty netter wound up being the game-winner. Matt Boldy (fifth) sent the puck into the gaping net in the dying minutes, but Tampa would score again. Kaprizov (seventh) added yet another empty net goal to put the game to bed.
