Tough start to the week with terrible goalie play hurting us on Monday and Tuesday. There’s only three games happening in the NHL tonight so selection is fairly limited. The main matchup for the night is the Maples Leafs vs the Flyers.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Philadelphia Flyers
- Time: 7:30 PM ET
- TV Coverage: NHL Network
- Toronto Maple Leafs: 7-5-1, 4th Atlantic (1-3 Away)
- Philadelphia Flyers: 6-2-2, 4th Metropolitan (3-1-1 Home)
| Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | -135 | -125 | -1.5 (+180) | o6.0 (-105) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | +125 | +115 | +1.5 (-210) | u6.0 (-115) |
The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Philadelphia winning six of their last seven games. After a slow start to the season, the Maple Leafs believed they had turned it around. However, on Monday, they got blown out by the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1, as a massive favorite. To be fair, the Kings are one of the hottest teams in the NHL but, the performance by Jack Campbell has created some cause for concern.
Toronto’s offense hasn’t seemed to have found their groove yet. They currently rank 26th in the NHL averaging just 2.54 goals per game. The Leafs have the same issues every year and this year is no different. Toronto’s roster is so top heavy that Marner, Matthews, Tavares, Nylander need to score so much to make up for the lack of production from the bottom half of the lineup. Having said all that, the biggest issue for the Leafs right now is the inability to convert on scoring chances. Toronto has an expected goals for of 35.16, which leads the league, but only has 21 actual goals for.
The Leafs defense has been middle of the road this year, giving up the 15th most goals allowed per game (2.85). They have also been solid on the Penalty Kill which averages 8th in the league. Jack Campbell is expected to start for the Maple Leafs tonight. He has a 6-3-1 record, 2.09 GAA, .929 SV%, and a +6.3 GSAx. Campbell has played well for them and is the main reason that the Leafs don’t have a worse record given their lack of offensive production.
The Philadelphia Flyers have had a great start to the season going 6-2-2 in their first 10 games. The Flyers are led by none other than Claude Giroux on offense with 12 points. Cam Atkinson, who was traded to Philadelphia last year, has seemed to fit in nicely with 8 points though their first 10 games. Unlike Toronto, the Flyers are getting scoring from all over the roster as they average 3.2 goals per game (11th).
After a disappointing season last year by Carter Hart, he has been great this year with a +6.0 GSAx. Through Hart’s play, the Flyers are allowing an average of just 2.4 goals against per game which is good enough for 4th in the NHL. One issue that will need to be addressed on defense if they want to continue to win, is limiting high-danger scoring changes. The Flyers are currently the 5th worst team and preventing those chances.
PICK: PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (+115)
(Confirm Carter Hart is still starting for Philadelphia before placing your wager)
This game is a pick ’em according to everything I see. Philadelphia should be able to generate plenty of scoring changes against the Leafs. While Toronto should struggle to as they face one of the best defenses in the league. As previously mentioned, Philly does give up a lot of high danger chances but, Toronto has one of the worst conversion rates in the league. This won’t be an easy game for either side but given the Flyers start to the season and improvement in Hart’s play, I like them at home. Toronto has also struggled on the road this year going just 1-3.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
