The Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings meet for an Original Six showdown tonight.
The pregame narrative: Auston Matthews’ availability is up in the air for a second straight game but that shouldn’t matter. Bet on Toronto to win in regulation and William Nylander to clear his shot total.
Check out our Maple Leafs picks vs. Red Wings for the game on Nov. 8.
Maple Leafs picks vs. Red Wings
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Best Bet: Nylander over 3.5 shots (-120)
Nylander is on fire right now and I want in.
The Swede’s 10 goals rank third in the NHL and five of them have come in his last five games. He’s only gone over this mark twice in that span but had exactly three shots in a pair of games as well.
All that is to say Nylander is putting pucks on net and has established himself as the team’s top dog with Matthews sidelined.
Speaking of Toronto’s captain, it’s unclear if he’ll play tonight after missing Tuesday’s game against the Boston Bruins. He was a non-participant in practice on Thursday, which is probably not a good sign.
Nylander will still skate on the second line alongside John Tavares and Max Pacioretty but is back on the first power play unit with Matthews out.
The Red Wings also profile as a great matchup for Nylander to pile up shots.
Detroit is allowing the third-most shots (32.34) and fifth-most chances (65.51) at even strength per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Key stat: Nylander cleared this total in all three games versus Detroit last year.
Quick picks
Maple Leafs to win in regulation (-110): Detroit’s defence has been a problem but strong goaltending has kept it afloat.
Alex Lyon is confirmed in the pipes tonight and he owns a 2.78 GAA and .916 SV% through six starts. But things haven’t been going so well for the American lately, as he’s allowed 10 goals in his last two outings against the Buffalo Sabres (four) and Winnipeg Jets (six).
The Leafs rank fifth in 5-on-5 chances per 60, and I expect them to relentlessly test Lyon tonight.
It’s unclear who will start in goal for Toronto as of 10:00 a.m. ET, but I’m confident in either option. Anthony Stolarz has been sensational so far and Joseph Woll is finally getting his legs under him.
Every Leafs win this season has come in regulation and I expect that trend to continue.
NHL picks made at 9:40 a.m. ET on 11/08/24.
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.