St. Louis Blues at Toronto Maple Leafs
03 January 2023
For the second time in a calendar week, the St. Louis Blues and the Toronto Maple Leafs will meet up on the ice. The Maple Leafs won the first meeting by a score of 5-4 in St. Louis, and this matchup will now take place in Toronto.
St. Louis has not had the season they expected, as they currently sit in fifth place in the Central Division. The Blues have also lost four of their last five games, and they are a team headed in the wrong direction.
Toronto comes into this game with 52 points on the year, and they are currently in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have been hot of late and have won four of their last five games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the moneyline betting favorites at -267 in this matchup with the St. Louis Blues.
Blues Dealing With Adversity
The St. Louis Blues were hoping to make a run at the playoffs in the New Year, but that’s no longer a realistic possibility. St. Louis just placed Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko on injured reserve, and they will struggle going forward.
Jordan Kyrou is having a huge season, leading the team with 17 goals and 35 points. St. Louis is scoring over three goals per game but allows 3.6 goals per night.
Goaltender Jordan Binnington will have to carry the load moving forward, but he has allowed over 3.1 goals per game. The Blues haven’t been able to put together solid efforts throughout the year.
Maple Leafs Cruising on Offense
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been dominant on both ends of the ice this season, as they are scoring 3.4 goals per game while holding opponents to just 2.5 goals per night. Toronto is loaded with offensive talent, and they have been getting great play in the net.
William Nylander leads the team with 21 goals and 42 points, but there are so many other weapons on this roster. The Maple Leafs convert on the power play 25 percent of the time, and that will be a key in this game.
Goaltender Ilya Samsonov has gone 11-3 in the blue paint this season, and he will be looking to shut down the Blues in this game.
Blues No Match For Maple Leafs
This was always going to be a tough matchup for the Blues, but it’s even harder now that they are missing so much talent. St. Louis wasn’t able to beat Toronto at home last week, and this game could get away from them in a hurry.
The Maple Leafs look like a legitimate Stanley Cup title contender this season, and they have been playing great of late. Toronto is going to simply outscore the Blues in this game, and they should roll to a big win.
Don’t just bet the Maple Leafs moneyline, but take Toronto at -1.5 as they beat the St. Louis Blues by two goals on Tuesday night.
See more of our NHL picks here.
