Wild vs Maple Leafs Odds Preview: Toronto Ready To Tune Up Minnesota
Recent Trends Favor Maple Leafs This Saturday
Leafs Favored by NHL Odds Against Visiting Wild
The Toronto Maple Leafs took their fans and backers for a wild ride during their home opener. But they got it done (sorry to the puck line bettors, though). They return this Saturday against a tougher opponent, theoretically, in Minnesota. The Wild shut out Florida, the Stanley Cup runner-ups. Still, the Wild vs Leafs odds are in favor of Toronto, and it’s due to one main thing: special teams.
Wild vs Maple Leafs 
Date & Time: Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Streaming: BSN
Who Gets Power? The Edge on Scoring
Those looking to take Minnesota at underdog Wild vs Leafs odds should pay attention to the power play (PP) stats first. The Wild went 21-20 (21-13-7) as a visitor last season and is just 2-5 in its previous seven road games due to its subpar PP. Minnesota’s 16.7% PP on the road ranked 29th in the NHL. The only teams who did worse finished in the bottom quarter of the NHL.
Still, Minnesota scored more goals on the road than at home, mainly thanks to its prowess on 5-on-5. But that may not cut it against a team like Toronto. The Leafs had the third-best PP at home at 29.2%. On top of that, Toronto scored 147 goals compared to Minnesota’s 121.
Consider that Toronto has Minnesota “outgunned” with players like Auston Matthews and William Nylander. They were the heroes in Toronto’s comeback against Montreal. The former scored a hat trick and could be on pace to score 60 goals again.
“I know he had a hatty tonight, but it wasn’t even his best opening night,” Leafs center John Tavares said with a smile. “So, it’s commonplace for him, but certainly, I think he’s just excited to lead the way and be great and be driven and get to where we want to get to.”
The Wild would give the world to have players like Matthews on the team. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy are potent scorers. But in the end, Minnesota struggles to score goals, so most of its NHL scores tend to go under: like eight of its last 10 in Toronto. It averaged just 2.3 in its previous 10 meetings against the Leafs.
But the Wild are Anything But
Minnesota’s playing style is to tame its opponents. But against Florida, the Wild were fortunate to get away with a win due to goaltender Filip Gustavsson’s efforts. He stopped all 41 of Florida’s shots. Minnesota got outplayed and got doubled on scoring chances by its opponent. That is unlike this team. And it can’t afford to have this performance in Toronto.
The Leafs had a slow start against Montreal. But they scored when they needed it. Ilya Samsonov should bounce back and have a better night against Minnesota. The first-round pick from the 2015 NHL Draft stopped 24 of Minnesota’s 25 shots the last time he faced the team. And he has a career 91% save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average in 65 home games.
For Minnesota to topple the Wild vs Leafs odds, it must keep it a low-scoring game. Gustavsson or Marc-Andre Fleury will have to be excellent in the net. Folks think there won’t be many goals as the under on the 6.5 total is being bet more.
Toronto also tends to play better defensively when at home. This team allowed the fifth-fewest goals as a host during 2022-23. Its first four home games last season all went under the total (mostly 6.5 totals).
If Samsonov rebounds and Gustavsson stays hot, expect the NHL betting predictions on a lower score to prove right. With plenty of elite scorers on the ice, goalies might steal the show.
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