Facing each other for the final time this year, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Minnesota Wild face off at the Xcel Energy Center. This East-West matchup gets going at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 31, and it will be shown live on Fox Sports North.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
With a moneyline of -135, Toronto heads into the matchup as the favorite. The line for Minnesota is standing at +115 and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 over, +105 under).
Toronto is 21-19 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 22 of its outings have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Leafs are 11-10 SU as an away team in 2019-20.
Toronto has converted on 23.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is ranked 26th in the league, and it’s successfully killed off only 76.1 percent of all penalties.
Toronto, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties just 3.3 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 28.7 saves per game with a .914 save percentage, Frederik Andersen (19-12-4) has been the best option in goal for Toronto this season. If head coach Sheldon Keefe chooses to rest him, however, Toronto might roll with Michael Hutchinson (2-7-1 record, .883 save percentage, 4.03 goals against average).
Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner will both lead the way for the visiting Maple Leafs. Matthews (46 points) has tallied 26 goals and 20 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 14 different games. Marner has 10 goals and 26 assists to his credit, and has notched at least one point in 20 games.
On the other side of the ice, Minnesota is 19-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just four have pushed. This season, the team is 10-6 SU as the home team.
Minnesota has converted on 17.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
The Wild have been penalized 3.5 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their last five match ups total, and 3.4 per game over their last five at home. The team’s had to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Alex Stalock has stopped 25.1 shots per game as the primary choice in the crease for Minnesota. Stalock has 10 wins, 10 losses, and two overtime losses to his credit and has maintained a subpar .901 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average this season.
Eric Staal (15 goals, 17 assists) will pace the offensive attack for the Wild.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Minnesota Wild Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five outings.
- The Maple Leafs are 6-3 when they attempt 10+ shots more than their opponent. They’ve averaged the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (33.9) while Minnesota has attempted just the 30th-most (28.8).
- The Maple Leafs are 9-8 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Wild are 6-8 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- Toronto is 1-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Minnesota is 1-1 in shootouts.
- Minnesota is ranked 27th with 6.6 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower, however, as it has created 5.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 4.0 takeaways over its last five.
- Toronto is ranked 12th overall this season with 7.8 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward lately, as the team has created 10.5 takeaways over its last 10 games and 11.8 takeaways over its last five.
