At one point this season, both the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs were leading their respective division. That’s no longer the case, but it’s still possible these two are good enough to meet in the Stanley Cup Finals. If not, Tuesday is their final meeting of the 2017-18 season. The Leafs are solid home favorites on the NHL odds.
Many around the NHL were surprised the Leafs signed 38-year-old Patrick Marleau to a 3-year, $18.75 million contract in early July but he has been very solid. Marleau has been relied on to alternate between both center and the wings, while still keeping himself on pace for roughly 30 goals and 50 points. Despite his prominent power-play usage, all but 2 of those goals have come at even strength.
What the Leafs are lacking is a clear No. 2 scorer after Matthews. William Nylander was expected to grab that role this year. But at the break, Nylander has nine goals and 23 assists for 32 points. That ranks him in a tie for 67th in league scoring. Last season, he finished tied for 35th in NHL scoring. He’s on pace for fewer goals and fewer points than he scored in his first full season with the Leafs. Mitch Marner’s 31 points rank him only 77th in the NHL in scoring, a drop of 42 places in one season.
The Leafs also need defensive help but that could soon be coming as Nikita Zaitsev is skating in his recovery from a lower-body injury. Zaitsev has been out since Dec. 15, when he was hurt against the Detroit Red Wings, and has missed 11 games.
Blues at Maple Leafs NHL Odds, Pick & Betting Prediction
When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto TV: NHL Center Ice, FSMW, TSNT Radio: 1120 AM (St. Louis) / 1050 AM (Toronto) Opening NHL Odds: Leafs -137, Blues +124 (5.5)Goodbye to that bye week! Hockey is back!!! #stlblues pic.twitter.com/acMmghdrfA
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 15, 2018
Season Series
On Nov. 4, the Leafs visited St. Louis and lost 6-4. Alex Pietrangelo scored twice and Brayden Schenn had four assists. Vladimir Tarasenko, Joel Edmundson, Magnus Paajarvi and Vladimir Sobotka also scored for the Blues. Jaden Schwartz had three assists, and Jake Allen made 26 saves. Tyler Bozak scored twice, Andreas Borgman had a goal and an assist and Connor Brown also scored for the Maple Leafs. Frederik Andersen made 27 saves.Latest NHL Betting Trends
- St. Louis is 1-7 ATS in its last 8 games
- St. Louis is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 12 of St. Louis’s last 16 games
- Toronto is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games
- Toronto is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Toronto’s last 5 games
Why Bet on St. Louis’ NHL Odds?
The Blues (26-17-3) entered their break on a three-game losing streak. They were last in action on Jan. 9 and lost 7-4 at home vs. Florida. The Panthers rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Tarasenko and Paul Stastny each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, and Colton Parayko and Tage Thompson also scored. Allen stopped 18 of 23 shots before he was replaced by Carter Hutton, who finished with 11 saves. The Blues remain without Schwartz, one of their top players. Coach Mike Yeo said Monday was Schwartz’s first skate since sustaining an injury to his ankle on Dec. 9 in Detroit. “It’s another positive. I’m happy about that,” Yeo said of Schwartz getting back on the ice. “Let’s see how he does here today and we’ll evaluate it as we go on day by day. The first thing we had to do was get him on the ice today and see how reacts to that. Depending on how today goes and then the next couple days, then I think we’ll have a better idea (of when he will be ready).” Schwartz was originally expected to be re-evaluated six weeks after being placed on injured reserve on Dec. 10. Yeo said Schwartz would not travel with the team for their two-game road trip to Canada. The Blues are 6-9-1 record since Schwartz got hurt. He’s been a major offensive force for them this season with 14 goals and 35 points in 30 games. The Blues have two All-Stars in Pietrangelo and Schenn. The workhorse defender Pietrangelo has collected seven goals and 30 points in 42 games this season. Schenn has 17 goals and 44 points in 46 games in 2017-18. He should easily surpass his previous career-high of 59 points.Why Bet on Toronto’s NHL Odds?
The Leafs (25-17-3) are on a two-game skid. They last played on Jan. 10 and lost at home to Ottawa, 4-3. Tom Pyatt broke a tie with 3:05 left. He took a feed from Matt Duchene on a 3-on-1 — after Toronto defenseman Morgan Rielly got caught pinching at Ottawa’s blue line — and beat Frederik Andersen high to the blocker side. Andreas Borgman, James van Riemsdyk and Rielly scored for Toronto. Andersen now has a 22-13-2 record with a 2.69 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage this season. Auston Matthews will be Toronto’s lone representative at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game. Matthews leads the Leafs in scoring with 19 goals and 33 points despite appearing in just 35 games.
Many around the NHL were surprised the Leafs signed 38-year-old Patrick Marleau to a 3-year, $18.75 million contract in early July but he has been very solid. Marleau has been relied on to alternate between both center and the wings, while still keeping himself on pace for roughly 30 goals and 50 points. Despite his prominent power-play usage, all but 2 of those goals have come at even strength.
What the Leafs are lacking is a clear No. 2 scorer after Matthews. William Nylander was expected to grab that role this year. But at the break, Nylander has nine goals and 23 assists for 32 points. That ranks him in a tie for 67th in league scoring. Last season, he finished tied for 35th in NHL scoring. He’s on pace for fewer goals and fewer points than he scored in his first full season with the Leafs. Mitch Marner’s 31 points rank him only 77th in the NHL in scoring, a drop of 42 places in one season.
The Leafs also need defensive help but that could soon be coming as Nikita Zaitsev is skating in his recovery from a lower-body injury. Zaitsev has been out since Dec. 15, when he was hurt against the Detroit Red Wings, and has missed 11 games.
