The Toronto Maple Leafs, spearheaded by Mitchell Marner and Morgan Rielly, are preparing to take the ice against Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in an Eastern Conference showdown. AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will showcase the matchup, and the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 3.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Toronto (+130) is playing the role of underdog to Pittsburgh (-150), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-125 for the over, +105 for the under). Those O/U odds have shifted after initially opening at -110 for both.
Toronto is 8-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Nine of its matches have gone under the total, while four have gone over and none have pushed. This 2018-19 Maple Leafs team is 5-0 SU on the road.
The Maple Leafs have impressively found the net on 29.4 percent of their power play chances thus far. That’s a good improvement from last season, when they were ranked second in the NHL by scoring on 25.0 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has also gotten stronger, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.2 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked 16th overall last year) to 82.4 percent this year..
Averaging 27.2 saves per game with a .917 save percentage, Frederik Andersen (6-5) has been the top option in goal for Toronto this season. If Toronto decides to rest him, however, they might go with Garret Sparks (2-0 record, .892 save percentage, 3.49 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, Pittsburgh is 6-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. Five of its matches have gone over the total, while another five have gone under and just one has pushed. So far this year, the team is 2-3 SU at home.
The Penguins have converted on 29.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for sixth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 87.1 percent of all penalties.
Matt Murray (28.6 saves per game) has been the primary option in the crease for the Penguins. Murray has four wins, three losses, and one overtime loss to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 3.45 goals against average and a fairly-weak .897 save percentage this year.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
The Maple Leafs are 3-1 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 7-5 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
After going 2-2 in games decided by a shootout last year, the Penguins are off to a 0-2 start in shootouts this season. Toronto was 7-2 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five outings.
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