NHL
Charlie Grant
October 6, 2018

Ottawa Senators at Toronto Maple Leafs: NHL Betting Odds, Prediction

The Battle of Ontario is projected to be as lopsided as the count of puns on the set of Coach’s Corner between Ron MacLean and Don Cherry. The Toronto Maple Leafs are favourites to win the Stanley Cup and they host potential league minnow Ottawa.

NHL Betting Odds and Analysis

Ottawa is coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night. It was a tough loss for a Senators team forcasted by many to finish last place in the Eastern Conference after it traded away all-world defenceman Erik Karlsson.

The Maple Leafs are the Stanley Cup favourites and are paying a good deal less than the Sens to lift the Cup. A $100 bet would return $600 if the Buds finish as NHL champs. But a brave $100 bet on the Senators – to defy the odds and win the Cup – would pay $15,100.

Only the Montreal Canadiens won fewer games on the road last season than Ottawa. The Senators came away winners in just 12 of their 41 road dates. Toronto won 29 of its 41 nights at the ACC.

The Over is 18-8-2 in the Leafs’ last 28 games overall.

Ottawa Senators

The Sens allowed the second most goals per game a season ago, and that was with arguably the league’s best defenceman on their roster. But Erik Karlsson is gone and Ottawa’s blue-collar blueline is tasked with keeping the likes of John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner off the scoresheet.

Toronto and Ottawa combined to score 32 goals in four games last season and the Over is 5-0 in the two clubs’ last five meetings.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Most hockey fans in the work place are a little more irked this fall because of Toronto supporters peacocking around the office. The Pittsburgh Penguins reminded everyone in their first game of the season just how much firepower there is in Pittsburgh.

But The Athletic’s Tyler Dellow forecasts the Maple Leafs to score more 5-on-5 goals than any other side in the NHL this campaign. Toronto scored 270 goals – third best in the league – a year ago. Now they’ve added Tavares to the party. One person Toronto fans want back in the mix is their 22-year-old right winger. William Nylander tallied 61 points for the Buds last year, but he’s out of the lineup because of contract negotiations.