The Toronto Maple Leafs (19-5-6) are on the road to face the New York Rangers (15-10-5) at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in a showdown of teams on winning runs. Toronto is coming off a 7-0 win over the Ducks on Tuesday, their fourth straight win.
The Maple Leafs committed only two penalties in the game, holding Anaheim without a power play goal. Alexander Kerfoot led the Maple Leafs with two goals. Pontus Holmberg and Conor Timmins both had three assists to lead the team in scoring.
Ilya Samsonov recorded his first shutout of the season with an impressive 28 saves. New York won their fourth in a row, beating the Devils 4-3 (OT) on Monday. Four players found the net for the Rangers. Igor Shesterkin surrendered three goals on 29 shots (.896%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Rangers won two of the three games between the teams last season, including a 6-3 victory in their final meeting in January. Adam Fox led New York with three points (2G 1A). Mitchell Marner led Toronto with two points (1G 1A). Shesterkin got the win, saving 35 of 38 shots (.921%).
FACING OFF
Toronto is averaging 3.33 goals per game for the season, 12th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Rangers team that is allowing 2.80 goals a game (10th). Meanwhile, New York has found the net 3.07 times a game on average, 18th in the league, and the Maple Leafs are holding opponents to 2.33 goals per game (2nd).
The Maple Leafs’ 24.49% power play percentage ranks ninth in the league, while the Rangers are 15th with a conversion rate of 22.68%. In terms of defending power plays, Toronto has the league’s ninth-ranked PK% at 81.05%, while New York is 16th at 78.89%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 37 and 35 points this season, Marner and Auston Matthews have been the top skaters for the Maple Leafs. In the net, Samsonov (8-2-0) is Toronto’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 1.88 GAA, second-best in the league, and a .933% save percentage, also second-best.
Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad lead the Rangers in scoring with 35 and 33 points, respectively. Panarin has six goals and 29 assists (2nd), while Zibanejad has 15 goals and 18 assists in 30 games. Shesterkin (14-4-4) has the best goals against average for New York at 2.52. He has a save percentage of .916%.
HOME AND AWAY
Toronto is 8-3-3 on the road this season. New York is 6-6-4 at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Toronto Maple Leafs (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
