Toronto Maple Leafs at St. Louis Blues Betting Preview
27 December 2022
The NHL returns from the league-wide Holiday break with a busy schedule Tuesday night. The Toronto Maple Leafs travel to St. Louis to meet the Blues in the first of two head-to-head matchups in seven days.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a 21-7-6 record and are ranked fourth overall in the NHL and second in the Atlantic Division, trailing the NHL-best Boston Bruins by eight points. The Maple Leafs have won their last two games and three of the previous five games, hitting the over in three of those games.
On the other hand, the St. Louis Blues season has been characterized by streaks and questionable goaltending. The Blues enter Tuesday night with a 16-16-2 record, losing their last two games but winning three of the last five overall. The Blues have hit the over in four of the last five games, while one game ended at six total goals.
The Maple Leafs are Truly Among the NHL's Elite
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made headlines this year with Mitch Marner's record-breaking points scoring streak and the team's persistence through injuries to goaltenders and defensemen. Marner leads the Maple Leafs with 40 points and has Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Michael Bunting all contributing offensively, giving Toronto the 13th-ranked offense, averaging 3.3 goals per game, and the 10th-ranked powerplay, converting at 23.9%.
Despite the injuries that tested the Leafs' defensive depth, Toronto's goaltending tandem of Matt Murray (8-2-2, 2.34 GAA, .925 SV%) and Ilya Samsonov (10-3-0, 2.07 GAA, .924 SV%) have been incredible and consistent for the Maple Leafs this season. Toronto is ranked second in goals against, giving up an average of 2.4 goals per game. The Maple Leafs' major weakness is the penalty kill, where Toronto is operating at 79.8% and ranks 15th overall.
St. Louis is Singing the Blues While Getting By
The St. Louis Blues have made headlines this season for mostly the wrong reasons. Be it losing streaks or the self-destruction of Jordan Binnington; the Blues have struggled to a 16-16-2 record, ranking St. Louis fifth in the Central Division and 21st overall. Adding to St. Louis' potential long night of the Blues against Toronto is that leading scorer Joran Kryou (16 goals, 16 assists) is listed as out, according to ESPN's NHL injury report.
St. Louis is averaging 3.0 goals per game, ranking the Blues 24th overall, but are giving up 3.6 goals per game, ranking St. Louis 28th in the NHL. The Blues' penalty kill is among the NHL's worst, ranked 29th and converting at 70.7%. However, St. Louis should find success on the powerplay, which is converting at 23.4% and ranked 12th overall.
We mention the self-destruction of Jordan Binnington, as that has been a major story and point of contention for the Blues this season. Whether Binnington (12-11-2, 3.14 GAA, .896 SV%) or Thomas Greiss (4-5-0, 3.55 GAA, .903 SV%) gets the start, either goalie will need a very strong performance to help the Blues defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs.
St. Louis Will Continue to Sing the Blues After the Maple Leafs Leave Town
The road team is 4-0 in the previous four meetings, while the underdog is 5-2 in the last seven games. The Maple Leafs are 4-0 in the last four games against the Central Division and 7-0 against the Western Conference.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the road team, the moneyline favorite, the better hockey team, and Dunkel Index's pick to win this game. The Maple Leafs should win this game that should hit the over in the process while giving St. Louis another reason to sing the blues.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
