Toronto Maple Leafs vs New York Rangers - Odds and Predictions

Where: Madison Square Garden – New York, NY.

When: Wednesday, February 5, 7:30 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): Sportsnet, MSG | WFAN

Toronto Maple Leafs (Away)

Head Coach: Sheldon Keefe{All-Time 19-8-3 TOR}

The Toronto Maple Leafs are coming off of a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers and have gone just 4-4-2 over their last ten games. To make matters worse, starting goalie Frederik Andersen left the game against Florida and is now listed as day-to-day with a neck injury.

Offense

The Toronto Maple Leafs, as for most of the season, have led the league in goals scored. Currently, they are tied for first in the league with the Washington Capitals. Both teams have scored 187 goals this season thus far and both have scored 147 at even strength.

Toronto also enters this game with the league’s fourth-best power play. The Leafs have scored 35 power-play goals and have a 24.48 percent with the man advantage.

The Maple Leafs are also the league’s fourth-highest shooting team with a combined total of 1,751 shots on goal this season. This gives them a shooting percentage of 10.7 percent: the sixth-best in the NHL this season.

Their biggest advantage may come in the faceoff circle as the Leafs rank third in the league with a 53 percent when it comes to taking faceoffs. The Rangers rank 30th.

Defense

Sure, this team scores a lot. But, guess what? They also let a lot of goals get past them. Toronto has allowed the seventh-most goals against at 167.

This team also boasts the seventh-worst penalty-killing unit. The Leafs have a 77.40 penalty-killing percentage and have allowed 33 power-play goals against. This trend will likely continue without top defenseman Morgan Rielly out of the lineup.

Toronto is also in the bottom-ten in the NHL when it comes to the most shots allowed on goal. The Leafs have allowed 1,692 shots to hit their net this season, leading to them having the tenth-worst save percentage in the league this year at .901 with just two shutouts on the season.

Goaltending

As mentioned earlier, goaltender Frederik Andersen is now on the shelf for the Maple Leafs and that couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Backup Michael Hutchinson is expected to get the start in New York. Hutchinson is just 4-8-1 this season. He has a 3.62 goals-against average and a .886 save percentage with one shutout.

Head Coach: David Quinn{All-Time 57-58-18 NYR}

One of the most interesting teams heading into the trade deadline, the Rangers sit ten points out of the final wildcard spot at the time of writing. Like the Leafs, they are coming off of a 5-3 loss and the team has gone 6-4-0 across their last ten games.

Offense

As mentioned earlier, the Rangers have an abysmal faceoff percentage. With the second-worst percentage in the NHL within the faceoff circle, the Rangers are likely to start a majority of the play without puck control.

They do have positives though. Their power play ranks at eighth in the league with a 22.16 percent. They have 37 power-play goals this season – two more than their opponents.

New York is also tied with Toronto in the shooting percentage department with 10.7 percent. The Rangers have put 1,521 shots on net this season – more than 200 less than Toronto. They make their shots count.

Defense

Defensively, these teams are pretty even. The Rangers rank just above the Leafs when it comes to average goals allowed per game. The Rangers allow an average of 3.22 against while the Leafs average 3.25. A slim margin is still a margin.

They allow a similar amount of shots against, which is a lot for both teams. The Rangers do tend to allow more, however, ranking 30th in the league with an average allowance of 34 shots against per game.

The biggest factor here is special teams. The Rangers penalty kill only ranks two spots down from Toronto at 25th, but the Rangers take more penalties than any other team, averaging more than 12 minutes per game. That will be their downfall against a team like the Maple Leafs.

Goaltending

The New York Rangers are expected to start backup goalie Igor Shesterkin Wednesday night against Toronto. Shesterkin has a season record of 3-1-0, a GAA of 2.51, and a .927 save percentage. Fantastic numbers, but that’s only across four games.

Last Head-to-Head

These two teams last met just over a month ago on December 28, 2019. The Rangers came out as the victors, beating the Maple Leafs by a final score of 5-4.

What’s at Stake?

This is a big game for both teams. Although in different divisions, both teams are sitting on the wildcard bubble. New York is closing in on the trade deadline with choices to make – add to the team for a playoff push or get rid of players in order to rebuild. A win here would be a further step in making a decision.

As for the Leafs, they have slipped a bit as of late. Frederik Andersen, their usually overworked goalie, is now not even an option in net for the foreseeable future. This team gives up a lot of goals as it is. These are two big points for Toronto as well in order to gauge the decisions that need to be made before it’s too late.

Questions to Answer

Frankly, how will the Maple Leafs deal without Andersen? Few teams rely on one goalie as much as Toronto. Their backups have been unreliable and their defense allows a lot of scoring chances against. This is a bad time to lose your goalie.

How will New York backup Shesterkin fare against the offense that Toronto brings to the table? The Leafs are tied with the Washington Capitals for the most goals scored this season.

Will the Rangers be able to play a more disciplined game and stay out of the penalty box? The Leafs have the fourth-best power play in the league and the Rangers take more penalties than any other team.

Toronto Maple Leafs Injury Report

G Frederik Andersen – OUT (upper-body)

D Morgan Rielly – DL (foot)

F Ilya Mikheyev – DL (wrist)

F Nathan Horton – IR/NR (back)

F David Clarkson – IR/NR (back)

New York Rangers Injury Report

F Chris Kreider – day-to-day (upper-body)

The odds for Maple Leafs vs the Rangers are provided by SugarHouse NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook, and 888Sport NJ. If you’re new to betting then check out our article/video on how to bet on the NHL in order to get a leg up on your best bets!

Good luck!