The Toronto Maple Leafs are back at it tonight as part of the NHL’s “Frozen Frenzy.”
The pregame narrative: After hammering the Tampa Bay Lightning yesterday, Toronto travels to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets in a back-to-back. I expect the Maple Leafs to win in regulation and William Nylander to stay hot.
Check out our Maple Leafs picks vs. Blue Jackets for the game on Oct. 22.
Maple Leafs picks vs. Blue Jackets
Go to full NHL betting markets.
Best bet: Leafs to win in regulation (-132)
Craig Berube has the Maple Leafs playing some great hockey.
Toronto is 4-2-0, allowing two or fewer goals in five of those contests. The outlier was a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers where the Blueshirts scored two empty-net goals.
Great goaltending has played a factor, as the Buds are allowing the fourth-fewest 5v5 goals per 60 (1.33), according to Natural Stat Trick.
Anthony Stolarz has been tremendous and Dennis Hildeby was solid in his NHL debut. Stolarz turned away 32 of 34 shots in Toronto’s 5-2 win yesterday so he won’t be available, and there have been rumblings that Joseph Woll might make his return tonight.
Whether it’s Woll or Hildeby, I’m confident the Leafs can play a responsible game in front of them and outscore the Blue Jackets.
Columbus is 2-3 with its wins coming against the Buffalo Sabres (awful) and the Colorado Avalanche (can’t buy a save). Daniil Tarasov started in both of those games, gave up four goals apiece, and has a .876 SV% on the season.
The Blue Jackets did go 2-1 against the Leafs last year with a pair of high-scoring overtime victories, but I dare to say things feel different in Toronto this time around.
Key stat: Toronto has the fifth-best goal differential (+7) so far.
Quick pick
Nylander over 3.5 shots (-130): I talked a lot about Toronto’s defence, but the top offensive players have been showing out after a slow start.
Auston Matthews has scored in three straight while Nylander has five goals and seven points in his last four games. There isn’t much value backing either to find the stat sheet and I don’t want to dip in on the anytime goalscorer markets.
But Nylander’s shot total has my attention, and that’s where I’ll go.
The Swede has gone over this mark in three of his last four games, logging eight shots against the Rangers on Saturday and five against the Lightning last night.
NHL picks made at 10:08 a.m. ET on 10/22/24.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.