One night after captain John Tavares recorded his 1,000th career point against his former team on Long Island, the Toronto Maple Leafs (14-6-5) are back in action against the New York Rangers (19-6-1) on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Toronto is third in the NHL standings for the Atlantic Division, while the Rangers are first in the Metropolitan Division.
Maple Leafs vs Rangers Picks
- Pick 1: Maple Leafs +1.5 (-190)
- Pick 2: Over 6.5 (+105)
Martin Jones (6.00 GAA, .900 save percentage) is the projected starting goaltender for the Maple Leafs in the second half of a back-to-back as Ilya Samsonov played last night and Joseph Woll is on the NHL injury report. Igor Shesterkin (2.83 GAA, .910 save percentage) is expected to start in goal for the Rangers. Let’s take a look at options for the Maple Leafs vs. Rangers best bets.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers Odds
Maple Leafs vs Rangers Information
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers
Location of the game: Madison Square Garden in New York City, NY
Date & Time: Tuesday, December 12 at 7 p.m. ET
How to Watch: ESPN+ and TSN4 (Canada)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers Recent Scores
Toronto is playing its second game in as many nights on the NHL schedule after losing 4-3 in a shootout to the New York Islanders on Monday. Auston Matthews scored one goal to tie for the league lead with 19 and is again among the NHL picks to win the Rocket Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer. Toronto is 6-1-3 in its last 10 games.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and coming off of a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday. Jonathan Quick made 25 saves against his former team, while Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad, Will Cuylle, and Jonny Brodzinski scored.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers Analysis
Looking at the Maple Leafs vs. Rangers best bets, Toronto comes into tonight’s game at ninth in NHL stats for goals per game (3.32) and 17th in goals against (3.2). They’ve been playing a tighter defensive game and got better goaltending over the last 10 games, allowing just 15 goals over their last six games, or 2.5 per game.
William Nylander leads all Toronto Maple Leafs players with 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists). After a three-game pointless streak two weeks ago, he now has a five-game point streak with seven points. Matthews is second on the team in scoring with 28 points (19 goals, 9 assists).
In addition to Woll, the Maple Leafs are without defensemen John Klingberg, Mark Giordano, and Timothy Liljegren, all of whom are on the NHL injury report.
New York, one of the NHL picks to win the Stanley Cup, have been among the most consistent NHL teams this season. They’ve only had one two-game losing streak all season and rank top-10 in many categories, including power-play, shooting percentage, goals allowed, and penalty kill.
The Rangers are 9-2 in 11 NHL games MSG this season and 14-4-1 against teams outside of the Metropolitan Division. They haven’t played the Maple Leafs yet this season and lost 3-2 to the team in their most recent meeting in April of last year. Artemi Panarin leads players on all New York Rangers lines with 38 points (16 goals, 22 assists), while Vincent Trochek is second with 25 points (6 goals, 19 assists).
Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are out with injuries for the Rangers.
Odds Breakdown
Toronto
The Toronto Maple Leafs are underdogs on the road for the Maple Leafs vs. Rangers best bets. Toronto has +130 moneyline odds with +1.5 (-180) puck line odds. The over/under is 6.5, with the over and under odds at +100 and -120, respectively.
New York
The New York Rangers are betting favorites with NHL odds of -150 for the moneyline and -1.5 (+150) for the puck line.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers Betting Pick and Prediction
The over is the preferred pick for Maple Leafs vs. Rangers best bets. Toronto has recorded at least a point in 11 of their last 12 games so, even on the second half of a back-to-back, should still play the Rangers tough. The Maple Leafs over-under record is 13-10. Expect a lot of goals with Jones starting tonight as well.
- Pick 1: Maple Leafs +1.5 (-190)
- Pick 2: Over 6.5 (+105)
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