Want to join? Log in or sign up in seconds.
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to extend their current home winning streak to a franchise-record 13 games on Saturday when they take on the struggling Detroit Red Wings as -245 favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto returns home fresh off Thursday’s decisive 5-2 victory over the league-leading Nashville Predators as a +141 underdog, and is poised to equal two additional franchise records with a victory in Saturday night’s Red Wings versus Maple Leafs betting matchup at the Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs sit just one victory shy of their all-time records for most overall wins and home wins in a season as they enter an eight-game stretch run that features six contests on home ice, and four clashes with opponents already eliminated from post-season contention.
Despite that enviable position, the Maple Leafs continue to lag behind the favourites on the Stanley Cup odds at +1400, just ahead of the +1600 odds they sported on opening night. However, Toronto has enjoyed considerable success against the Red Wings, picking up the win in six of seven meetings, capped by a 3-2 victory as -133 road chalk on Feb. 18.
That defeat marked the start of a dismal slide that quickly snuffed out Detroit’s already slim playoff hopes. The Red Wings have lost nine straight on the road during a 3-12-2 run, tallying two or fewer goals on 11 occasions during that stretch, including a 1-0 loss to the visiting Washington Capitals as +152 underdogs on Thursday night.
Earlier on Saturday, the Calgary Flames battle to keep their fading playoff hopes alive as they visit the San Jose Sharks as +149 underdogs. The Flames have dropped four straight going into Saturday afternoon’s matchup at the SAP Center at San Jose, including a crushing 4-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks as a -105 home bet on Wednesday, and have been outscored by a 20-6 margin during their current swoon.
Conversely, the Sharks have scored 29 total goals during a six-game win streak that has lifted them into sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division. That run includes last week’s 7-4 win in Calgary as +117 underdogs that marks their fourth straight victory over the Flames.
Elsewhere on the Saturday NHL odds, the Ottawa Senators host the Carolina Hurricanes as +118 underdogs, while the Montreal Canadiens welcome the Capitals to the Bell Centre as a +158 wager, and the Edmonton Oilers take on the Los Angeles Kings in late-night action as +109 home underdogs.
7:00 pm ET
TV: CBC probably
After two games on the road against top Cup contending teams — the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators — the Leafs come home for a big Saturday night game against... the Detroit Red Wings?
Welp.
It’s probably even worse than you think. I know I thought the Red Wings were in a bad situation due to having a number of just awful contracts and not being so awful to give themselves a better chance of getting a high draft pick, not necessarily that they were a terrible team. A quick look at the standings, however, shows that Detroit has been so awful recently that they’ve fallen into the bottom 5 in the league. They might even get caught by Ottawa or Arizona (also LOL Arizona passed Vancouver and Buffalo!)
Seems like a classic trap game eh? At least the Leafs have Auston Matthews back, who is always fun to watch against Detroit, and a lot of players fighting to hold onto their roster spots. Connor Carrick, Travis Dermott, and Roman Polak have cemented themselves as the rotation for the 3rd pairing now that Nikita Zaitsev is back again, while Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson have still gotten regular games in place of Dominic Moore, Matt Martin, and of course... Josh Leivo.
SO LET’S GO LEAFS!
ICYMI
Travis Dermott is good; maybe you didn’t know that? | by Katya
Jamie Lee Rattray wins Jayna Hefford Trophy | by Annie
