San Jose Sharks vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction, NHL Odds
The Maple Leafs skated to a 2-0 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night, snapping a two-game slide on home ice and improving their overall record to 5-1-1 in their past seven contests. The Sharks have gone 1-2-0 through the first three games of their current five-game road trip, capped by Tuesday’s 4-1 loss in Philadelphia and have now fallen to defeat in six of their past seven away contests.
The Maple Leafs lead the way as healthy -210 favourites on Thursday’s NHL odds. The Sharks trail as +170 underdogs, and the total is listed at 6.
Sharks vs. Maple Leafs NHL Betting Odds
The Leafs will be eager to avenge themselves after being swept in last season’s two-game series with the Sharks that featured a 3-2 loss on home ice. That snapped Toronto’s three-game win streak against the Sharks during which San Jose scored just three total goals. Overall, the Leafs have taken eight of 13 from San Jose, and have limited the Sharks to just a single goal in each of their past five head-o-head victories. However, these clubs have combined to produce uneven results in NHL totals betting, with the OVER/UNDER going 5-5 over their past 10 dates and the total reaching 7.0 or higher on five occasions. Overall, the Leafs have enjoyed the benefit of a stout defence and steady goaltending despite losing both Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz to injury. The Buds have surrendered just six total goals while winning four of their past five, limiting opponents to two or fewer goals in seven of their past 10, and generating a boon for UNDER bettors, who have cashed in four straight and eight of 11. The Sharks have scored just a single goal in three of their past four outings and now rank 24th in the league with just 2.77 goals scored per game this season.
San Jose Sharks
With just seven total goals over their past four games, the Sharks offence has provided few positives to discuss. That is, except for Collin Graf. The undrafted forward was recently promoted to the top line, playing alongside Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, and the 23-year-old former college hockey star has made the most of his opportunity. Graf has ended a five-game points drought with goals in each of the past three games and recorded a season-high three shots in Tuesday’s loss to the Flyers. Barring a change in the San Jose lineup, Graf tops the list of value bets on the NHL player props as a +390 wager on the anytime goal scorer odds and is an intriguing +2200 bet to score the first goal of the contest for the third time in as many games.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Stingy goaltending couldn’t have come at a better time for the Leafs, who have mustered just one total five-on-five goal over the past two games after potting 16 total markers during a preceding 3-0-0 run. William Nylander remains mired in his longest points drought of the season, which now sits at four games, and John Tavares has mustered just one goal and two helpers over his past eight outings. Indeed, the Leafs’ recent scoring outburst cam courtesy of contributions from the supporting cast, with Bobby McMann, Nicolas Roy, and Dakota Joshua all contributing timely multi-point performances during the club’s recent road trip. Scott Laughton has also started to heat up after seeing his season debut delayed, scoring his first three goals over the season in the past four games. Morgan Rielly has also contributed a goal and assist over the past three games, and with eight points in his past nine home dates, the veteran rearguard is a solid-110 bet to pick up at least a point on Thursday.
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