The Toronto Maple Leafs will continue their longest road trip of the season when they venture to Arizona to face the Coyotes. The Leafs have been a tough bet on the road recently, going 1-4 SU in their last five road games, and have three away games left on this trip. Despite their ups and downs, they will face a team epitomizing the term “struggling” as the Coyotes have the worst record in the league and are 4-13 SU at home. The ’Yotes opened as heavy home dogs at +149 to get the victory.
Not much has gone right for Arizona this season but their prodigal son will return to hit the ice in his home state. Leafs forward Auston Matthews grew up near Phoenix and will play his second game back in his old stomping grounds. When you consider that this fact is the highlight of the Coyotes season, it should tell you that Arizona is a basement-dweller of a franchise. The ’Yotes rank 30th in both scoring and goals allowed this season and have had three separate five-game losing streaks during the course of the year. Fade away, my friends.
On the flip side, the Leafs (who were in Arizona’s position only two seasons ago) will look to build off the excellent road win vs the Rangers last week and got a huge boost from Matthews, who notched a goal and an assist in his return from a concussion. The young guns should be plenty rested and Toronto could make a decent puckline wager vs the Coyotes, who are 1-4 against the puckline in their last five home games. If the puckline isn’t your game, the Leafs moneyline may be the easy win to consider for bettors who can line their pockets with cash after draining their bank account over the holiday.
The total opened at 6 and the UNDER should be on bettors’ minds when analyzing this matchup. As mentioned, ’Zona isn’t great offensively and the UNDER has hit the last four times in this matchup.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
Betting fans looking to back the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs before puck drop in this match found them as -165 moneyline favorites at Sportsbook. They saw an Sportsbook total of 6, according to Sportsbook.
OddsShark computer score prediction models pick a possible 3-2.8 win for the Coyotes on Thursday. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming NHL matchups here.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Arizona Coyotes Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Arizona Coyotes are 9-25-5 so far on the season. The Toronto Maple Leafs, meanwhile, are 22-14-1. OVER/UNDER betting fans have seen Arizona go 16-22-1 and the Maple Leafs go 17-16-4 on the totals. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Arizona vs Toronto injuries news.
The Coyotes sit at No. 29 in the current NHL power poll here at OddsShark, while the Maple Leafs sit at a No. 9 on the same chart.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively, the game matches up the Arizona Coyotes' No. 30-ranked offense (2.26 goals per game) against a Toronto Maple Leafs defense that ranks No. 10 at 2.81 goals per game allowed. The Coyotes power play has clicked at a 14.63% rate while the Maple Leafs have a 82.46% rate on the penalty kill.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Toronto won its last outing, a 3-2 result against the Rangers on December 23. Bettors who backed the Maple Leafs at +105 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window.
Arizona was a 3-1 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against the Avalanche. They won as +138 underdogs, while the total score of 4 made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors.
Next Betting Matchups
Toronto at Colorado, Friday, December 29
Arizona at Anaheim, Sunday, December 31