Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Preview

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In their last head-to-head matchup of the regular season, the Vancouver Canucks and the Toronto Maple Leafs take the ice at Air Canada Centre in a cross-country showdown. CBC Sports will showcase the action, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 6.

Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs Odds

With a moneyline of -230, Toronto enters the contest as the substantial favorite. The line for Vancouver sits at +190, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under).

Toronto is 24-18 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.6 units this season. That winning percentage, the third-best in the Atlantic Division in this young season, is a welcome improvement over the 40-42 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Through 42 regular season matches, 21 of the teams games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just three have pushed. This season, the team is 12-6 SU at home.

The Maple Leafs have been able to convert on 21.7 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated seventh overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 83.7 percent of all penalties.

As a team, the Maple Leafs have been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game overall this season, and 5.0 per game over their last five games. The team has had to kill penalties for 10.4 minutes per contest over their last five home games.

Averaging 31.4 saves per game with a .922 save percentage, Frederik Andersen (21 wins, 13 losses, and one OT loss) has been the top goalkeeper for Toronto this season. If head coach Mike Babcock decides to rest him, however, Toronto could roll with Curtis McElhinney (3-4-4 record, .916 save percentage, 2.78 goals against average).

The Leafs will continue seeking offensive production from Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner. Matthews (32 points) is up to 18 goals and 14 assists and has recorded multiple points on 10 different occasions this year. Marner has five goals and 25 assists to his name and has notched a point in 16 contests.

Over on the other bench, Vancouver is 16-24 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 23 of its outings have gone over the total, while 17 have gone under and none have pushed. The Canucks are 9-9 SU as the road team this season.

The Canucks have converted on 20.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.3 percent of all penalties.

Vancouver’s players have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their past five outings total, and 4.0 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays 8.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.

Jacob Markstrom (2.79 goals against average and .906 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Vancouver. Markstrom is averaging 25.8 saves per game and owns a 10-19-4 record.

Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Canucks will be Brock Boeser, who’s got 21 goals and 17 assists this season.

Vancouver Canucks at Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Predictions

Predictions: SU Winner – Maple Leafs, O/U – Under

Betting Trends

  • Toronto is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vancouver is 0-2 in shootouts.
  • The over has hit in three of Toronto’s last five outings.
  • Over Vancouver’s last ten games, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-6 in those games).