The Toronto Maple Leafs return home after suffering a road loss in Detroit Friday, and they get to face Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins shuffled their decks yesterday, acquiring Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann in a trade with the Florida Panthers, before going out and beating the Ottawa Senators.
Toronto has changed their lineup too, adding defenseman Jake Muzzin from Los Angeles, so there are new faces in place, but both teams have had trouble with consistency from time to time. Even so, it’s a star-laden affair in the spotlight on Hockey Night in Canada.
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PITTSBURGH-TORONTO
OVER/UNDERS
Sidney Crosby OVER 1.5 POINTS – This might be a bit of a reach, since Sid has 10 multi-point games in 24 road contests this season, but he’s gone five straight road games without a multi-point game, the Penguins are missing Evgeni Malkin and Crosby typically wrecks the Leafs.
Kris Letang OVER 2.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – In his past 20 road games, Letang has gone for three shots plus blocks in 17 games. This one’s a virtual gift.
EDMONTON-PHILADELPHIA
RAPID FIRE
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins +0.5 points vs. Leon Draisaitl – Draisaitl has an impressive 25 points in 24 road games this season, so it’s easy to see why he’s favored, but Nugent-Hopkins has 24 points in 24 road games, so getting a half point on top of that is the way to go.
SUPER SAVER
Cam Talbot isn’t terribly reliable, but he’s been better on the road this season and Carter Hart is already awesome. Talbot has nearly 27 saves per 60 on the road this season while Hart has more than 30 per 60 minutes in his home games, so taking the pair to exceed 54.5 saves is a good play. If you’re feeling frisky, try over 59.5 for a bigger payout.
NEW JERSEY-MONTREAL
OVER/UNDERS
Max Domi OVER 0.5 POINTS – Montreal’s leading scorer has recorded points in 15 of 26 home games and the Devils are a worse than average opponent, so that moves the needle a little further towards the over.
RAPID FIRE
Blake Coleman +0.5 shots + blocks vs. Brendan Gallagher – There’s no denying that Gallagher is a contributor on a regular basis, he generates a lot of shots and scores enough, but Coleman does a lot of that stuff too, and his role continues to increase, especially with the Devils dealing with some injuries. So, take Coleman plus the half, and maybe a blocked shot on the PK will make the difference.
DETROIT-OTTAWA
OVER/UNDERS
Matt Duchene UNDER 1.5 POINTS – While Duchene is having a great season for the Sens, he has recorded multiple points in 10 of 23 home games. Perhaps catching the Red Wings on the second night of a back-to-back pushes that closer to the plus side, but I’m not counting on multiple points.
RAPID FIRE
Hit all five of these for 18x the payout:
- Matt Duchene -0.5 points vs. Dylan Larkin
- Andreas Athanasiou -0.5 shots + blocks vs. Anthony Mantha
- Jonathan Bernier +0.5 saves vs. Craig Anderson
- Mark Stone +0.5 points vs. Gustav Nyquist
- Thomas Chabot -0.5 shots + blocs vs. Mike Green
ST. LOUIS-COLUMBUS
RAPID FIRE
Ryan O’Reilly +0.5 points vs. Artemi Panarin – While Panarin is great, he’s been better on the road. 26 points in 24 home games is good, but not good enough to warrant a half-point advantage over O’Reilly, who has 19 points in 22 road games.
VEGAS-FLORIDA
RAPID FIRE
Paul Stastny +0.5 POINTS vs. Jonathan Huberdeau – As good as Huberdeau is, and he’s put up 30 points in 22 home games, he’s not as productive away from the Panthers’ top line which makes it tough to give away a half point to Stastny, who has 11 points in 11 road games and is on a six-game point streak.
Mike Hoffman -0.5 shots + blocks vs. Max Pacioretty – The half point difference is pretty close to being on the mark, in terms of averages for Pacioretty on the road (a little over 3.2) and Hoffman (a little under 3.8) at home, but the Golden Knights are on the second night of a back-to-back, and that’s good enough reason to take the Panthers winger in this matchup.
LOS ANGELES-ISLANDERS
OVER/UNDERS
Mathew Barzal OVER 0.5 POINTS – The Islanders’ sophomore center has put up a point in seven of the past eight home games. Taking on a Kings team that just lost Jake Muzzin in a trade sure seems like a favorable matchup to keep scoring.
Robin Lehner UNDER 28.5 SAVES – This isn’t about Lehner’s play, because he’s having a great season, but he hasn’t had to face a heavy workload at home, averaging 23.5 saves per 60 minutes on home ice this year.
ANAHEIM-WINNIPEG
OVER/UNDERS
Blake Wheeler UNDER 1.5 POINTS – My first inclination was to go over here, because Wheeler has 39 points in 27 home games and the Ducks aren’t good, but it turns out that Wheeler has 10 multi-point games at home, which means 17 games in which he recorded one point or fewer.
RAPID FIRE
Mark Scheifele -0.5 points vs. Bryan Little – Scheifele has nearly 1.5 points per game at home this season (40 points in 27 games), while Little is hovering around 0.6 (17 points in 27 games). Scheifele is more consistent and the engine that drives the Winnipeg offense.
DALLAS-NASHVILLE
OVER/UNDERS
Viktor Arvidsson OVER 0.5 POINTS – Possibly the Predators best player when he’s been in the lineup this year, Arvidsson has points in eight of 13 home games and 16 of his past 22 games overall.
Filip Forsberg OVER 0.5 POINTS – The other winger on Nashville’s top line, Forsberg has points in 11 of 17 home games and six of 10 games overall since returning from injury.
TAMPA BAY-RANGERS
OVER/UNDERS
Steven Stamkos OVER 3.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – The Rangers aren’t very good and Stamkos has connected for at least four shots plus blocks in 10 of his past 12 road games.
Mika Zibanejad OVER 0.5 POINTS – The Rangers aren’t likely to win, but Zibanejad is on fire, with nine goals and 14 points in his past nine games. He can find his way to a single point against the Lightning.
CHICAGO-MINNESOTA
OVER/UNDERS
Patrick Kane OVER 3.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – The Blackhawks superstar is on a 10-game point streak and has at least four shots plus blocks in seven of his past eight road games.
RAPID FIRE
Jonathan Toews -0.5 shots + blocks vs. Brandon Saad – While Saad is on a good streak, with five goals in his past five games, he’s not the shot generator that Toews is and has gone eight straight road games without a blocked shot.
VANCOUVER-COLORADO
OVER/UNDERS
Sven Baertschi UNDER 0.5 POINTS – He’s in a decent spot since returning from injury, but Baertschi has points in just four of 12 road games this season.
Bo Horvat OVER 2.5 SHOTS + BLOCKS – A solid two-way performer, Horvat doesn’t get cheated on a game. He may not score, but he’ll be involved, and has at least three shots plus blocks in nine of his past 10 road contests.
ARIZONA-SAN JOSE
OVER/UNDERS
Tomas Hertl OVER 0.5 POINTS – Having a breakout season for the Sharks, Hertl has points in six of the past seven home games. Arizona should have trouble slowing him down.