Read the latest betting pick and predictions for tonight's matchup between the Minnesota Wild (29-17-4) and Toronto Maple Leafs (30-18-2), courtesy of our friends at Daily Faceoff.
The Wild and Maple Leafs will both be well-rested when they meet in Toronto on Wednesday. Minnesota is coming off a two-day break, while the Maple Leafs are returning from a three-day break. The Maple Leafs are 19-10-0 at home this season, the Wild are 18-5-3 on the road. However, a one-day rest advantage is not insignificant, as home teams have won approximately 60 percent of the games in which they have had more rest than the road team.
Unfortunately for the Wild, they’ll be without top star Kirill Kaprizov, who is set to have surgery to repair a lower-body injury that caused him to miss 12 games this season. Kaprizov will be sidelined for the next month, according to reports, and the team is also going to be without defenseman Jonas Brodin, who was placed on long-term injured reserve, and isn’t expected to be back until the team returns home from their four-game road trip.
The Wild kicked off the trip with a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, but they have lost six of their last nine games and they were much healthier when they defeated the Maple Leafs 2-1 in overtime back on Nov. 3.
Minnesota and Toronto grade out similarly in even strength expected goals, but the Maple Leafs do a better job of controlling the play. Toronto has the 11th-best shot share at even strength, while the Wild rank 25th in that category. That said, Toronto hasn’t looked great as of late. The Maple Leafs are just 3-5 over their last eight games, but they are 7-3 in their last 10 meetings against the Wild.
Injuries are also a concern for the Maple Leafs, though, as top forwards like Matthew Knies, John Tavares, are among several players dealing with ailments, and goaltender Anthony Stolarz hasn’t played since Dec. 12. That’s going to put a lot of pressure on Auston Matthews to keep scoring, as he has been red hot, but look for William Nylander to keep shooting the puck.
Minnesota ranks among the bottom-five teams in shots against per 60 minutes over the last month, and Nylander has registered four or more shots in five out of his last eight outings, including 24 shots in the last five games.
Read more betting picks and predictions for the NHL on site.
MIN Wild | +145 ML |
TOR Maple Leafs | -170 ML |
Puck Line | TOR -1.5 (+150) |
Total Goals | O/U 5.5 |
Read the latest NHL news on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Better Collective. Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.