The Scottrade Center plays host to an East-West matchup as the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the St. Louis Blues. CBC Sports will air the matchup, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 4.
Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues Odds
St. Louis enters the game as the favorite with a -135 moneyline. The line for Toronto sits at +115, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
St. Louis is 10-4 straight up (SU) and has netted 5.8 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 46-36 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Of the team’s 14 games this season, seven have gone over the total, while another seven have gone under and none have pushed. The team’s 5-1 SU at home this season.
The Blues have converted on just 15.6 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s ranked 23rd overall in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 26th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 77.1 percent of all penalties.
The Blues, as a collective unit, have been penalized just 3.8 times per game this season, a number that is pretty close to last year’s 3.9 penalties per game they surrendered. After serving an average of 8.9 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to kill penalties for 8.6 minutes per outing this season.
With a .923 save percentage and 28.4 saves per game, Jake Allen (7-4-1) has been the top goalkeeper for St. Louis this year. If St. Louis decides to rest him, however, head coach Mike Yeo could go with the undefeated Carter Hutton (3-0 record, .950 save percentage, 1.67 goals against average).
The Blue Notes will continue looking for leadership from Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko. Schwartz (17 points) has put up eight goals and nine assists and has recorded multiple points five times this year. Tarasenko has six goals and eight assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 10 contests.
Over on the other bench, Toronto is 8-6 straight up (SU) and has earned 0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of nine of its games have gone over the total, while four have gone under and just one has pushed. As a road team so far, the Maple Leafs are 4-3 SU.
The Maple Leafs have converted on 25.0 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s good enough for sixth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 13th overall and it’s successfully defended 81.3 percent of all penalties.
Toronto’s skaters have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, a number that is fairly close to the 3.9 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 8.4 minutes per matchup this season.
Frederik Andersen (29.7 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Toronto. Andersen owns a 7-5 record, while registering a .901 save percentage and 3.26 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Maple Leafs will be Auston Matthews, who has 10 goals and eight assists this year.
Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Betting Notes:
- After going 2-2 in games decided by a shootout last year, the Blues are off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. Toronto went 1-8 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- The under has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five outings.
- Toronto has managed 28.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while St. Louis is averaging 33.4 shots per game over its last five at home.
