The Toronto Maple Leafs christen Scotiabank Arena for the first time this season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in town.
The pregame narrative: Toronto’s goaltending instability has me interested in backing a veteran Pittsburgh squad. Rickard Rakell and Kris Letang are solid choices to record a point while backing the Pens on the puck line is another eye-catching wager.
Check out our Penguins vs. Maple Leafs picks for the game on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Maple Leafs picks vs. Penguins
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Best Bet: Rakell to score 1+ point (+108)
Rakell is coming off an underwhelming season and isn’t off to a hot start in 2024-25.
The Penguins winger produced 37 points in 70 games last season and is pointless through Pittsburgh’s first couple of games this campaign.
I’m expecting the Pens to put forward a strong offensive performance on Saturday, however, and Rakell should be involved.
He plays on Pittsburgh’s first line and top power-play unit. He skates alongside Sidney Crosby on both of those groupings, which puts him in a spot to succeed.
The game total for this contest is 6.5, which means there should be plenty of offence. Toronto rolls with an unproven Anthony Stolarz, which makes this a nice opportunity for the Penguins’ offence to have a night.
Key stat: Rakell scored a goal in his lone meeting against Toronto last season.
Quick picks
Letang to score 1+ points (+120): The arrival of Erik Karlsson served as a threat to Letang’s spot on Pittsburgh’s top power play.
But here we are one year later, and Letang is playing alongside Karlsson on the man advantage.
The veteran blueliner didn’t see his production sputter with the addition of Karlsson, either. Letang scored 51 points in 82 games in 2024, his second-highest total over the last five seasons.
The longtime Penguins star found the scoresheet in Pittsburgh’s 6-3 victory over Detroit on Thursday.
Penguins +1 (+102): I’ll back a goal with Pittsburgh at plus-money odds.
Goaltending concerns are real in Toronto. The team let Ilya Samsonov walk and brought in Stolarz to compliment Joseph Woll, with neither goalie ever proving their worth as a starter in the NHL.
Woll is already injured and although Stolarz was sharp against the Montreal Canadiens his lack of experience (he’s never made more than 25 starts in a season) is concerning.
In what feels like it’ll likely be a close game, I’ll back the Pens.
Picks made at 10:48 a.m. on 10/12/24
Stevie’s an avid NFL, NHL, and tennis bettor who has no problem talking himself into the underdog. His previous stops include Yahoo! Sports Canada and Toronto Metropolitan University, where he received a degree in Sport Media.