The Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets will close out the regular season, as they prepare for the playoffs. These two teams square off on Friday.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this North Division battle at the Bell MTS Place. Toronto is the favorite at -161. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Winnipeg at +140 as the underdog.
Toronto will be without Zach Hyman and Zach Bogosian as well as Riley Nash and Scott Sabourin. Winnipeg is missing Tucker Poolman, Bryan Little, Nathan Beaulieu, Andrew Copp, and Nikolaj Ehlers.
Toronto Falls in OT to Senators
Toronto lost in overtime to Ottawa on Wednesday, 4-3. However, they are 3-0-2 in May. Jake Muzzin had a goal and added an assist. Frederik Andersen stopped 24 of 28 shots.
Toronto is sixth in goals per game at 3.35 and are sixth in shooting percentage at 10.7%. They are 16th on the power-play at 20.3%. The Maple Leafs are led in scoring by Mitchell Marner who leads the team with 47 assists and 67 points. Auston Matthews is right behind with 66 points and is the team leader in goals with 41.
Toronto is seventh in goals allowed per game at 2.62 and 23rd in penalty killing at 78.3%. Andersen will probably get one more outing before beginning the playoffs. He is 13-8-3 with a 2.96 GAA and a .895 save percentage.
Jets Blanked Canucks
Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 24 shots as Winnipeg defeated Vancouver, 5-0. Blake Wheeler scored two goals and added two assists and Kyle Connor scored a goal and added two assists of his own. Mark Scheifele had a goal and an assist for the Jets.
Winnipeg is 12th in goals per game at 3.02 and are ninth in shooting percentage at 10.1%. They are sixth on the power-play at 23.1%. With his two points on Wednesday, Scheifele now leads the team with 61 points. He is also the team leader in assist with 40. Connor added to his team leading goal total, now at 24 and he is second in points with 48.
The Jets are 10th in goals allowed per game at 2.73 and are 15th in penalty killing at 80.3%. Hellebuyck is 23-17-3 with a 2.60 GAA and a .915 save percentage. He has shutouts and two of his last three starts.
Trends:
Toronto:
- 4-1 in their last five games when playing on one day’s rest.
- 4-0 in their last four games on the road.
Winnipeg:
- 1-6 in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage greater than 60%.
- 1-7 in their last eight games at home.
This is going to be a very interesting contest, as you have to believe both of these teams are approaching the game as one where they simply do not want to have anyone who gets hurt. Do not look for large numbers of shot blocks, big hits along the boards, or other plays that could endanger someone. Instead, I expect a very conservative game one by Toronto. Toronto has won the last seven meetings in Winnipeg.
Pick: Take Toronto at -161.
The Total:
I expect both teams to want to stay in rhythm while being cautious. I think that leads to a very low-scoring game, even one that gives the impression that this was a playoff game by the way the score will finish. These teams have gone over in 18 of the last 25 meetings, but not on this night.
Pick: Go under 6.0 at -120.
