Scotiabank Arena will be the site for an East-West tilt as the St. Louis Blues pay a visit to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The opening face-off is at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 20, and fans at home can view it live on CBC Sports.
St. Louis Blues at Toronto Maple Leafs Odds
Toronto enters the matchup as the heavy favorite with a -170 moneyline. The line for St. Louis sits at +150, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -125 money on the over and +105 on the under.
Toronto is 6-2 straight up (SU) and has netted 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, the league’s fourth-best so far this season, is an improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2017-18 season (49-33). Among its eight games this season, four have gone over the total, while another four have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 2-2 SU at home so far this year.
The Maple Leafs have successfully scored on 45.0 percent of their power play opportunities in 2018-19. That’s a big improvement from last year, when they were ranked second in the league by scoring on 25.0 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has improved slightly year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.2 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 16th overall last season) to 81.0 percent this year.
As a team, the Maple Leafs have been called for penalties just 2.8 times per game this season. Last year, they posted the second-best mark in the league with 3.3 penalties per game. After serving an average of 7.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 6.1 minutes per matchup this year.
Averaging 28.3 saves per game with a .914 save percentage, Frederik Andersen (4-2) has been the best option in goal for Toronto this year. If head coach Mike Babcock chooses to give him the night off, however, Toronto may turn to the undefeated Garret Sparks (2-0 record, .892 save percentage, 3.49 goals against average).
The Leafs will continue relying on offensive production via Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly. Matthews (16 points) has tallied 10 goals and six assists while Rielly has three goals and 10 assists to his credit so far in the early stages of the season.
On the other hand, St. Louis is 1-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of three of its matches have gone over the total, while two have gone under the total and one has pushed. As the road team so far, the Blues are 0-2 SU.
The Blue Notes have scored on 32.1 percent of their power play chances this year after successfully converting on 15.4 percent of their extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (a percentage that was ranked just 30th in league-wide). The team has gone from killing off 79.6 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 17th overall last season) to 78.9 percent in 2018-19.
St. Louis’ skaters have been penalized 3.3 times per game this season. Last season, that number was at 3.3, which was the third-lowest mark in the league. After serving an average of 7.7 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has been forced to kill penalties for 7.2 minutes per matchup this season.
Jake Allen (3.91 goals against average and .877 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for St. Louis. Allen is averaging 28.4 saves per game and has one win, four losses, and two OT losses to his credit.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Blues will be Brayden Schenn (three goals, three assists) and Vladimir Tarasenko (two goals, three assists).
St. Louis Blues at Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Maple Leafs, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone under in three of Toronto’s last five games.
St. Louis skaters registered 23.1 hits per game last season, while the Maple Leafs logged 20.8 hits per matchup.
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