Toronto Maple Leafs at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 12/14/2017

Thursday, December 14, 2017

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head to Xcel Energy Center to take on the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, December 14, 2017. The opening line for this contest has the Maple Leafs at +113 and the Wild at -125.

Toronto has a record of 20-11-1 this year and away from home they have a record of 10-6-1. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They have tallied 108 goals and surrendered 92 goals for a point differential of +16. For the year they have an ATS mark of 20-12-0 and an over/under record of 16-13-0. Minnesota has a record of 16-11-3 including 9-3-2 on home ice this year. They are 4th in the Central Division. They've scored 89 goals and have given up 88 for a goal differential of +1. Their record against the spread is 16-14-0 while their over/under mark is 16-12-0.

Valuable Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 20-12-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 16-13-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 16-14-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 16-12-0 against the over/under this season

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

12/13/17 C Auston Matthews Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Minnesota
11/06/17 LW Joffrey Lupul Abdominal IR (10/03)

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

12/12/17 GO Devan Dubnyk Lower Body left last game, is "?" Thursday vs Toronto
12/01/17 D Jared Spurgeon Groin is out indefinitely
10/24/17 LW Zach Parise Back IR (10/01)

Player Spotlight

Auston Matthews has scored 26 total points this year for the Maple Leafs. He has 13 goals this season with 80 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 13 assists on the year and averages 18.6 minutes played per contest. Nazem Kadri averages 16.5 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 17% by tallying 13 goals on 79 attempts. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the year. Frederik Andersen has 17 wins and 9 losses this season in goal for the Maple Leafs. He has 934 shots against him and he's surrendered 73 goals. He's made 861 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jason Zucker has 25 total points this season for the Wild. He has 14 goals this year with 70 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 20%. He has a total of 11 assists on the year and averages 17.7 minutes played per contest. Eric Staal averages 18.6 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 12 goals on 93 attempts. He has 14 assists, giving him a total of 26 points on the year. Devan Dubnyk has 12 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Wild. He has 699 shots against him and he's given up 59 goals. He's made 640 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs have 41 total points this year, which is 4th in the NHL. They've scored 108 goals while giving up 92 scores, which has them ranked 3rd and 16th respectively. They have had 90 power play chances and scored 20 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 5th in the league. The Maple Leafs have given up 100 power play opportunities and surrendered 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking them 12th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 11.12% for the year. They allow 34 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is 6th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 15th in the league with a total of 35 points this season. They have 19 power play goals on 87 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 6th in the NHL. They've given up 113 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, ranking 11th overall. As a team, the Wild are 19th with a total of 89 goals scored while they've given up 88 goals this season, ranking 21st in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.37%. As a unit they give up 32 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 12th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Toronto is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.8%, as they've attempted 1,881 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,972 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.4% as they have 1,371 attempts while they have given up 1,519 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 28th in the league. The Maple Leafs start possessions in the offensive zone 47.3% of the time, which is 28th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.7% for the season. That is 5th overall in the NHL. They have 1,031 face-off wins compared to 979 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.3%. That ranks them 13th in the league. On defense Toronto has 694 hits and they have blocked 453 shots from the opposition, putting them 15th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild start possessions in the offensive zone 47.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.3% for the year. That ranks them 26th and 7th respectively in the NHL. They have 894 face-off wins as opposed to 897 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That is 17th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 554 hits and they've blocked 479 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 5th in blocked shots. Minnesota is ranked 30th in Corsi percentage with 46.1% as they've tried 1,543 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 1,806 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 26th in the NHL at 47.3%, as they have 1,191 shots while they've given up 1,327 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Maple Leafs/Wild NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Toronto +113

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