The Toronto Maple Leafs will head back to the road to take on the slumping Columbus Blue Jackets. The Leafs pummeled the Hurricanes yesterday 8-1 and now will embark on their longest road trip of the season. Toronto has been hit with injuries to key players and has dropped three straight road games going into tonight’s matchup. The Leafs opened at +130 to get the W.
- The Maple Leafs are 1-4 SU and ATS in their last five games vs the Blue Jackets.
- The total has gone OVER in three of the Maple Leafs’ last four games vs the Blue Jackets.
- Leafs forward Auston Matthews is OUT for tonight’s matchup.
Columbus has been dealing with its own struggles and won’t feel bad in the slightest for the Leafs. The Blue Jackets have lost three of their last four games and have been outscored in those contests 20-11. They also seem to fall short against the better teams in the NHL, going 6-16 SU in their last 22 games vs teams with winning records, and have dropped down to a wild-card slot in the Eastern Conference. The saving grace if you plan to back the Jackets is they’re 7-2 SU in their last nine games at home.
The Leafs, on the other hand, will be without their best forward and a top defenseman for this road trip as Auston Matthews and Nikita Zaitsev will both be on the shelf. Toronto will miss these two dynamic players and their other young guns will need to pick up the slack. On the defensive end, Toronto has been stellar in the month of December, holding teams to two goals per game. Where they miss Matthews, though, has been on the offensive side of the puck as they rank 26th in goals per game this month, averaging 2.25. Luckily for bettors, the Leafs haven’t been a horrible bet vs the Jackets as they’re 6-3 SU in their last nine trips to Nationwide Arena and could be a sneaky pick to pull off the upset.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Columbus Blue Jackets Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
Columbus will face the 21-13-1 Maple Leafs. In totals betting, the Blue Jackets are 16-18 in OVER/UNDER betting so far this season while the Toronto Maple Leafs are 16-15-4. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Columbus vs Toronto injuries news.
This game puts the Blue Jackets, most recently No. 28 in the OddsShark NHL Power Rankings, up against the Maple Leafs, who rate a No. 5 in the latest survey.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively, the game matches up the Columbus Blue Jackets' No. 21-ranked offense (2.85 goals per game) against a Toronto Maple Leafs defense that ranks No. 9 at 2.8 goals per game allowed. The Blue Jackets power play has clicked at a 10.1% rate while the Maple Leafs have a 82.57% rate on the penalty kill.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Toronto was a 8-1 Sportsbook in its last match at home against the Hurricanes. They won as favorites, while the total score of 9 made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors.
In their last action, Columbus was a 7-2 loser on the road against the Bruins. Bettors on Boston at -108 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (9) sent OVER bettors home happy as well.
- Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- Toronto is 15-8 ATS in its last 23 games on the road
- Toronto is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
- Toronto is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- Columbus is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Columbus's last 6 games
- Columbus is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games at home
- Columbus is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Toronto at New York, Saturday, December 23
Columbus at Pittsburgh, Thursday, December 21
