Toronto Maple Leafs at New Jersey Devils

Betting Odds

Moneyline: New Jersey (-140)
Game Total Line: 5 Goals
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

When the Toronto Maple Leafs take the Prudential Center ice in New Jersey for a tilt against the Devils, it may be a battle of back up backstops with James Reimer out indefinitely suffering from an undisclosed head injury and Martin Brodeur nursing a sore shoulder and being listed day-to-day. Although the Leafs looked strong in their 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins they came back the next night and dropped a close game to the Ottawa Senators 3-2 while the Devils continued to be frustrated recording their fourth loss in five games by dropping a game to the Dallas Stars 3-1 on the road.

The Devils limp home nursing a 4-4-1 record and finding themselves in uncharacteristic territory of being outscored on average of 2.22 to 2.67. The Devils continue to wait for their franchise forward Kovalchuk to break out but has only found the back of the net twice this season. With his woes continuing, they have looked toward Elias and Parise to step up the production with both tapping in four goals which combined is forty-four percent of the teams overall goal production which makes it easy for opposing teams to shut the teams offense down focusing on only two players.

The Leafs continue to impress with strong gutsy performances against tough opponents and though very early in the campaign find themselves sitting in the upper echelon of the league standings despite being outscored in their past five games 17-16. When a team relies heavily on the offensive power to plug holes on the defense, luck will quickly catch up and their fortunes will change very quickly although they are enjoying a more balanced scoring attack with nearly half the team registering at least goal. The Leafs are enjoying an average of 3.3 goals per game (4th in the league) while the Devils have scored an average of just 2.2 goals (18th overall). When looking at the defensive numbers, the Devils allow 2.7 goals against per game while the Leafs have allowed an average of 3.2. The Leafs could find themselves in a difficult position early if they are relying on special teams as the Devils rank first overall on the penalty kill not allowing a single goal all season on the PK while at home and the Leafs are currently ranked 20th overall for the powerplay on the road and the Devils have scored on the PP 12.5% of the chances and the Leafs have successfully killed the penalties only 71.4% (28th in the league).

Betting Game Pick

Look for another strong outing by Gustavson as he continues to demonstrate to the Leafs upper management that he has the ability to play frequently for the club while Reimer is out. Look for a Toronto win tonight although their goals against have been high, their goals for have also been high. Against a Brodeur-less Devils, they should be tough to handle. Take the Maple Leafs +135 at at 5Dimes and get reduced juice on all your NHL bets!!