After winning nine of their first road games of the season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have dropped two straight away from home entering Saturday’s matchup with the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Sportsbooks opened the Leafs as slight -105 road underdogs with a total of 6.
- The UNDER is 6-0 in the last six meetings between the Maple Leafs and Wild in Minnesota.
- The Maple Leafs are 1-8 SU in their last nine meetings with the Wild.
- The home team is 8-3 SU in the last 11 matchups between the Maple Leafs and Wild.
Maple Leafs vs Wild Game Center.
Maple Leafs looking to get back on track on the road
Toronto is beginning a stretch of seven of its next eight games on the road tonight, and the addition of Auston Matthews figures to give the team a massive boost on its upcoming excursion. Matthews returned to the lineup from a 14-game absence due to a shoulder injury to score two goals and set up another in the Maple Leafs’ 5-3 triumph over San Jose on Wednesday. Matthews has now recorded multi-point performances in eight of 12 contests in 2018-19.
Minnesota has dropped four of its past six and is coming off back to back losses ahead of tonight’s tilt. The Wild have been flat-out dominant against Toronto lately, going 8-1-0 SU in their previous nine meetings with the Maple Leafs. Minnesota is 7-2-0 all-time in the series at home. Zach Parise extended his point streak to six games by notching the ninth of his team-leading 12 goals in the last 13 games during Thursday’s 4-2 setback to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Leafs, Wild are going UNDER with ease in the Gopher State
UNDERs have been a constant theme in this series, as the UNDER is 6-0 in the last six meetings between Toronto and Minnesota at Xcel Energy Center. In the previous 12 matchups between the clubs overall, the UNDER is 11-0-1.
Western Conference opposition has been no match for the Maple Leafs lately. In Toronto’s past 21 games vs teams from the West, it’s 16-5 SU. Conversely, the Wild are 2-5 SU in their last seven against squads from the Eastern Conference.
Who has the edge in between the pipes?
Frederik Andersen and Devan Dubnyk are slated to get the start tonight. Andersen (14-7-0, 2.26 goals-against average, .932 save percentage) finished November with a 8-3-0 record and 2.02 goals-against average along with a .932 save percentage. Dubnyk (9-7-2, 2.65 GAA, .913 SV%) has lost four in a row while posting a 3.96 GAA and .847 SV% in that span.
