Wild vs Maple Leafs Prediction

pickdawgz.com

14 October 2023

The Minnesota Wild will play the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario. Minnesota opened their season with a win against Florida, while Toronto defeated the Canadiens to start their season.

Wild Preview

The Minnesota Wild are 1-0-0 this season after they defeated the Florida Panthers by a score of 2-0 in their first game. Minnesota scored once in the first period and once in the second period, and was able to keep Florida off of the scoreboard in the win. The Wild got goals from Brock Faber and Joel Eriksson Ek in the game. Minnesota was out shot by a total of 41-21 and went 1-4 on the power play. The Wild won 40.3% of the face-offs and recorded 15 hits in the game. Joel Eriksson Ek led the Wild with one goal, one assist, and two shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Minnesota is Filip Gustavsson, who stopped all 41 shots he faced against Florida.

Maple Leafs Preview

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 1-0-0 this season after they defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a score of 6-5 in a shootout. Toronto fell behind 2-0 and 5-3, but they were able to tie the game up late in the third and win in the shootout. The Maple Leafs got goals from Gregor, Matthews (3), and Nylander. Toronto out shot Montreal by a total of 42-24 and went 2-4 on the power play in the win. The Maple Leafs won 48.1% of the face-offs and recorded 27 hits in the game. Auston Matthews led the Maple Leafs with three goals and eight shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Toronto is Ilya Samsonov, who stopped 19 out of 24 shots against Montreal.

Toronto Maple Leafs Team Facts

The Maple Leafs have lost seven of their last eight games as favorites following a win.
The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 10 games as favorites following a win.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 2' market has hit in each of the Maple Leafs' last nine Saturday night games at Scotiabank Arena.
The Maple Leafs have lost the first period in five of their last six games at Scotiabank Arena following a win.

Minnesota Wild Team Facts

The Wild have won nine of their last 10 games following a home win.
The Wild have covered the puck line in 14 of their last 15 games as underdogs following a home win.
The Wild have lost the first period in five of their last six games as underdogs.
The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 3' market has hit in each of the Wild's last five games following a home win.

Toronto Maple Leafs Player Prop Facts

William Nylander has scored a goal in each of the Maple Leafs' last three games.
Morgan Rielly has recorded at least one point in each of the Maple Leafs' last six games at Scotiabank Arena.
Mitch Marner has recorded at least one assist in 12 of the Maple Leafs' last 13 Saturday night home games.
John Tavares ranks T1st in the league for multi-assist game (1) this season.

Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts

Joel Eriksson Ek has recorded at least one point in six of his last eight appearances in night games.
Mats Zuccarello has recorded an assist in three of his last four appearances with the Wild as underdogs.
Joel Eriksson Ek ranks T2nd in the league for multi-point game (1) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

The Toronto Maple Leafs ranks T1st in the league for shots per game this season (42.0).
The Toronto Maple Leafs ranks T1st in the league for power play goals against this season (1).
The Minnesota Wild ranks T1st in the league for power play goals against this season (0).
The Minnesota Wild ranks 1st in the league in save percentage this season (1.000).

Pick

Toronto really struggled at times in their game against Montreal, as allowing five goals was less than ideal, but they generated plenty of shots and scoring chances of their own. Minnesota played great defensively in their opener against the Panthers and were able to secure the shutout win. It will be interesting to see if the Wild can continue their defensive success against another very good offensive team. I didn’t love what I saw from the Maple Leafs defense in their first game and I think we are in for a high scoring game here. Take the over.