Maple Leafs Hope To Extend Road Win Streak Vs Wild

The Toronto Maple Leafs (17-6-1) and Minnesota Wild (16-6-1) face off in a battle between two of the NHL’s top teams on Saturday. Both clubs come into the matchup with five straight wins, with the Maple Leafs also going for a franchise record eight consecutive road victories.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Maple Leafs opened as the road favorite at -120 on the moneyline while the Wild are +100 as the underdog. The total was set at six goals with the UNDER going 13-3 in the last 16 meetings. Minnesota has had the upper hand in recent years, holding a 9-4 record over the last 13 games against Toronto.

Toronto News & Notes

The Maple Leafs are coming off the best November in franchise history as they went 12-2 through 14 games. They continued the hot streak in their last outing – a commanding 8-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Auston Matthews scored his fourth career hat trick, Michael Bunting picked up three assists, and Jack Campbell made 28 stops for the victory.

While the Maple Leafs are known primarily for their offensive firepower, we’ve seen them take a step defensively this season, ranking second in goals against per game (2.17). A lot of the credit goes to Campbell, who ranks second in save percentage (.951) and third in goals against average (1.72) among goaltenders with at least three games played.

Ondrej Kase (upper body) has been ruled out for Saturday’s contest.

Minnesota News & Notes

The Wild won 5-2 over the New Jersey Devils in their last outing on Thursday thanks to three-point performances from Kirill Kaprizov (2-1-3) and Ryan Hartman (1-2-3). Kaapo Kahkonen saved 29 of 31 shots to earn the win in net.

After a slow start with just six points through eight games in October, Kaprizov has really picked up the pace. Since November 2, the Russian winger has tallied 22 points in 15 games – just four behind league leader Leon Draisaitl (26) over that span – and now sits fifth in NHL scoring this season with 28 points.

Captain Jared Spurgeon (lower body) is week-to-week while Frederick Gaudreau (COVID-19) is questionable for Saturday.

How Toronto Will Win

The Maple Leafs might be playing their best hockey of the Matthews era, and that’s backed up by a 15-2 record over their last 17 games. The Wild could be their biggest test of the season yet, but with an offense that’s averaged 5.75 goals over the last four games and a Vezina candidate in net, the Maple Leafs look nearly impossible to beat.

How Minnesota Will Win

While the Wild have historically been thought of as a defensive team, they’ve flipped the script this season as their offense ranks fourth in the NHL with 3.74 goals per game thanks to big contributions from Kaprizov and Hartman. Toronto hasn’t faced an offensive team as strong as Minnesota this season, so Kaprizov and company could catch them by surprise.

Computer Pick: Wild +100

For more NHL predictions, visit our NHL Computer Picks page.