NHL: Vegas Golden Knights vs Toronto Maple Leafs Preview
Vegas tries to return the favor in Toronto after getting smoked at home, 7-3
The Vegas Golden Knights (32-19-7, 71 points) are stumbling towards the trade deadline after three straight losses and five of their last six. NHL standings show Vegas trailing the Vancouver Canucks by 11 points for the lead in the Pacific Division, and three points up on the Edmonton Oilers for second place.
Every game for Vegas is important considering the Oilers own three games in hand on the Knights. The Leafs are seven points behind Boston and six back of Florida in the Atlantic after seven straight wins and 11 of 13.
Oddsmakers opened Toronto as a -155 favorite with a total of 6.5 (Under -120). The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT and can be seen on SCRIPPS. Let’s start our Knights vs Leafs preview with a deeper look at Vegas from a betting perspective.
Knights vs Leafs 
Day/Time:
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Streaming: NHLPP|ESPN+
Loss To Ottawa Gets Bettors Attention
The Vegas Golden Knights injuries are the main discussion points, with Mark Stone and Jack Eichel out of the lineup, but it was a 4-3 shootout loss for the Ottawa Senators that has shifted the worry. Fans and bettors can take losses to the Hurricanes and Maple Leafs, but a loss to the Senators is unacceptable to most, especially after blowing a 2-0 second-period lead.
Vegas managed just six first-period shots and another nine in the third to give them a total of 29 in an NHL game where they should have been closer to 35. The Knights saw Adin Hill come back from injury to provide them with depth in net, but the problem has been the offense since the All-Star break, where they’ve scored more than three goals just once, and that was against the San Jose Sharks (4-0).
The tone of that game could have been much different, with the Sharks hitting the post at least three times. Their scoring slump isn’t a surprise considering the only healthy NHL player in the lineup that will be a 30-goal scorer is Jonathan Marchessault with 28 goals and 44 points. That depth that we’re used to down the middle is gone with the loss of Eichel, who will not be back until early March.
Of the six impactful players who are on the IR, only Eichel is expected back to help down the stretch. The league’s fans like to cry that Vegas does this every year to hide their players on LTIR, but every one of their NHL injuries is real.
However, don’t feel too bad for Vegas, who will make a deal at the deadline as they do every year, and this season’s hot NHL trade rumor is they’ll be in line for the services of Ottawa’s Vladimir Tarasenko.
Maple Leafs Hope to Extend Longest Win Streak In 20 Seasons
We wrote about this the last time these two NHL teams got together, and it holds again tonight. The Golden Knights are looking around for their scoring leader, while the Toronto Maple Leafs have many pillars to lean on. Auston Mathews (52 goals) could be a 70-goal scorer and his line-mate, Mitch Marner, could chip in 35, and that’s just the top line.
William Nylander (31 goals) will get to the 40-goal mark as a second-line forward, and John Tavares (17 goals) could get to the 30-goal mark with 25 games to play. Our only concern is in gal with Ilya Samsonov (14-4-6, 3.18, .883), Joseph Woll (8-5-1, 2.80, .916), who they just recalled, and Martin Jones (11-7-1, 2.71, .907).
Are those names that Toronto can rely on when they can’t outscore their way out of goaltending that’s ranked 18th in the league with a 3.12 goals-against average and 20th in save percentage? We conclude our Knights vs Leafs preview with our official selection.
Number Is Only Expected To Go Up
In what should be one of the most entertaining NHL hockey scores of the night, bettors are lining up to take the Maple Leafs. The opening number was Toronto -155 but early sharp money pushed that up to -165 with a total of 6.5 (under -120).
There is no reason to believe that this number won’t go higher, and because it’s not bankroll-friendly, we’re going to look at the total. We think the oddsmakers are extremely generous with the plus-money over option. Toronto just put up seven against Vegas adding to an average goals per game of 4.72 over their last 11 games.
We know the Knights have had trouble scoring but if they can give us 2-3 goals we’ll be cashing a ticket. Take the over 6.5 (Even).
For NHL betting news, NHL odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
