The Toronto Maple Leafs host the Seattle Kraken on Halloween night.
The pregame narrative: The Leafs have been inconsistent this season so it’s hard to pick a side. However, I can back the over in a matchup between two shaky goalies. I’m also taking Auston Matthews to score and John Tavares to record a point.
Check out our Maple Leafs props vs. Kraken for the game on Oct. 31.
Maple Leafs props vs. Kraken
Go to full NHL betting markets.
Best Bet: Matthews to score (-134): There is a fair amount of juice on this play but Matthews is one player who deserves it.
Toronto’s newest captain led the league with 69 goals last season. In six career games vs. the Kraken, Matthews has six goals and 11 points.
He hasn’t had the same start to the season that he had last year, but his 8.5% shooting percentage would be the worst of his career, by far (career 16.0% shooting percentage).
Because of that, I’m looking to buy in on Matthews before he gets hot and his price becomes unplayable.
Key stat: Matthews leads the NHL in shots (47) and is second in expected goals (7.5) per MoneyPuck.
Tavares to score 1+ point (-154): If the last play carried too much juice then look away, but I think the price is worth it here.
Tavares has a point in seven of nine games this season and is coming into tonight on a five-game point streak.
The former captain has the benefit of skating on the first powerplay unit with Toronto’s top offensive players. Despite that, he only has two PP points this season so there’s still room for improvement.
He continues to be on a line with William Nylander which is excellent for his production and newcomer Max Pacioretty is another veteran winger who scored close to a PPG in his last healthy season.
NHL picks made at 10:36 a.m. ET on 10/31/24.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.