The Toronto Maple Leafs are on the verge of putting together a productive four-game road trip – and if recent trends hold, they're in good position to head home on a winning note as they visit the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Toronto has won six straight meetings with the Oilers, and will look to atone for a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
- Date/Time: December 14, 7 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Rogers Place
- TV Coverage: SNO, SNP, SNW
- Sportsbook Odds: Toronto -125, Edmonton +113 | O/U 6.5
- Leafs vs Oilers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Oilers find themselves as home underdogs for the second consecutive time; they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Carolina Hurricanes at +100 on Dec. 10. The total opened at 6.5, and is a good bet to stay there.
Toronto Maple Leafs News & Notes
Just when the Maple Leafs were looking like they had figured things out – earning impressive road victories over St. Louis and Vancouver – a familiar problem reared its head and cost Toronto a third straight victory. The Calgary Flames scored three times in the third period en route to a 4-2 victory; Toronto has now allowed 48 third-period goals, the most in the NHL.
To their credit, however, the Leafs have been much better at striking first; they've opened the scoring in each of the first three games of their road trip and are now 8-3-2 when they score first. That's still the second-fewest first goals in the NHL; by comparison, the Oilers have scored the first goal in 19 of their 34 games this season and are 14-4-1 when doing so.
Edmonton Oilers News & Notes
It feels like an annual question at this point, but we're compelled to ask again: What's wrong with the Oilers? Despite boasting the top 1-2 forward combo in the NHL in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers have seen a 2-5-1 stretch drop them into a tie for second place in the division with a rival Flames team that has reeled off seven consecutive victories.
As has often the case with the Oilers, goaltending has become a significant issue. Edmonton has allowed 3.87 goals per game so far in December, the fourth-worst goals-against average in the league over that span. And you can't put equal blame on the defense, with the Oilers having limited opponents to just 28.8 shots per game for the month (sixth-fewest in the NHL).
Betting Pick: OVER
Both teams have seen their share of goal-prevention struggles while boasting some of the top forward talent in the league. We favor the OVER.
- Toronto is 20-6 SU in its last 26 games vs. Pacific Division opponents.
- Edmonton is 1-5 SU in its past six home games.
- The UNDER is 10-3-1 in Toronto's last 14 games vs. the Western Conference.
