Toronto Maple Leafs vs. N.Y. Rangers Prediction, Preview, and Odds

The Maple Leafs played well over the past week and they’ve won four of their last five games. They are fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, one point behind New Jersey in third place and two points behind second-place Carolina. They can still finish in second place with a win and losses by the teams ahead of them, but they will secure home ice in the first round with a win over the Rangers on Thursday.

Toronto is averaging 3.40 goals per game. They scored four goals on 24 shots in their last game.

William Nylander had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs. Calle Jarnkrok and Ryan O'Reilly had a goal and an assist, while Noel Acciari had an assist.

Toronto has played well defensively, giving up 2.68 goals per game. They gave up three goals in their last game and will have to do a better job if they want to get the win.

Joseph Woll saved 45 of the 48 shots that he faced. He is 5-1-0 in six games with a 2.19 GAA and a .933 save percentage.

Erik Gustafsson (Upper Body) and Sam Lafferty (Undisclosed) are questionable for this game.

The Rangers followed up their win over Columbus with a loss to the Sabres in their last game. They will try to bounce back from the loss with a win over the Maple Leafs, which will give them their fourth win in their last six games and move them into the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

New York is averaging 3.35 goals per game. They scored two goals on 28 shots in their last game.

Artemi Panarin scored both goals for the Rangers, while Mika Zibanejad and Patrick Kane picked up an assist.

New York has played well defensively, giving up 2.63 goals per game. They gave up three goals in their last game and will have to play better if they want to win this game.

Igor Shesterkin saved 37 of the 39 shots that he faced. He is 37-13-8 in 58 games with a 2.48 GAA and a .916 save percentage.

Best Bets for this Game

Insiders Status:

The Maple Leafs are averaging 3.40 goals per game and 3.21 goals per game on the road. They averaged 2.33 goals per game in their last three games against the Rangers. With New York giving up 2.83 goals per game at home, the Maple Leafs will be held under their average in this game. The Rangers are averaging 3.35 goals per game and 3.48 goals per game at home. They averaged 3.67 goals per game in their last three games against the Maple Leafs. With Toronto giving up 2.87 goals per game on the road, the Rangers won’t score enough goals to push the score over the total. The Maple Leafs and Rangers played under the total in six of their last 10 meetings.