Maple Leafs vs. Capitals best bet and odds Oct. 24: Bet on Toronto to cover puck line

The Toronto Maple Leafs stay on the road and pay a visit to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.

The pregame narrative: Toronto won a thriller on Saturday night, beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime. Its offence is rolling, which is something we can't say about Washington. Keeping up with the high-powered Maple Leafs figures to be a difficult task for the Capitals.

Below is our Maple Leafs vs. Capitals odds and best bet for Oct. 24.

NHL oddsas of 1:59 p.m. ET on 10/23/23.

Maple Leafs vs. Capitals odds and best bet

Best BetMaple Leafs -1.5 (+150)

Toronto's defence and goaltending are still areas of concern after its win over Tampa Bay, but Washington doesn't seem well-equipped to take advantage of these weaknesses.

The Capitals have been wildly underwhelming to open this season. They're last in the NHL in goals per game (1.25) and are 0-for-13 on the power play. They're putting very little rubber on goal, ranking 30th in the league in shots per game (24.8).

Washington's inability to produce offensively will make it hard to keep up with a high-flying Leafs squad.

It'll be especially difficult considering how poorly the Caps have been in their own zone, too. They place 25th in goals against per game (3.75) and in team save percentage (.886), per Natural Stat Trick.

Toronto's offence is more than capable of making poor defensive teams pay for their mistakes. The Maple Leafs are tied for ninth in goals per game (3.60) and lead the league in high-danger chances per 60 (17.28).

Washington is aging out of its prime while Toronto's prime is still very much a current state of being. With each team's trajectory and recent play trending in very different directions, we're betting on the Leafs to pull off a convincing road win.

Key stat: Toronto has won five of its last six meetings against Washington, covering this spread three times.