Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers NHL Picks & Predictions 12/23/2017

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Madison Square Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Madison Square Garden to play the New York Rangers on Saturday, December 23, 2017.

Toronto has a record of 21-14-1 this season and on the road they have a record of 10-9-1-1. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 119 goals and given up 102 goals for a point differential of +17. For the season they have an ATS record of 21-15-0 and an over/under record of 18-15-0. New York has a record of 19-12-4 including 14-5-3-2 at home this season. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 115 goals and surrendered 101 for a goal differential of +14. Their record against the spread is 19-15-0 while their over/under record is 19-13-0.

Valuable Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 21-15-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 18-15-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 19-15-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 19-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

12/22/17 C Auston Matthews Head is "?" Saturday vs NY Rangers
12/18/17 RW Nikita Soshnikov Lower Body IR (12/11)
12/17/17 D Nikita Zaitsev Lower Body IR (12/16)
11/06/17 LW Joffrey Lupul Abdominal IR (10/03)

Key New York Rangers Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Frederik Andersen has 18 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Maple Leafs. He has 993 shots against him and he's given up 76 goals. He's made 917 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Auston Matthews has accumulated 26 total points this season for the Maple Leafs. He has 13 goals this year with 80 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 13 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Nazem Kadri averages 16.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 13 goals on 89 shots. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Kevin Shattenkirk has scored 22 total points this year for the Rangers. He has 5 goals this season with 73 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 7%. He has a total of 17 assists on the season and averages 20.5 minutes played per game. Henrik Lundqvist has 17 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Rangers. He has 892 shots against him and he's surrendered 71 goals. He's made 821 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Mats Zuccarello averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 8 goals on 73 shots. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 28 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs have allowed 111 power play opportunities and have given up 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82% this year. That is 12th in the NHL. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.80% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%, which is ranked 6th in the league. The Maple Leafs has 43 total points this season, ranking 10th in the NHL in offense. They are 3rd in the league with 119 goals while they've given up 102 goals, which is 16th overall. They have had 101 power play opportunities and scored 23 goals on those chances for a percentage of 23%. That is 6th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Rangers are 7th with 112 goals scored while they are 22nd in the NHL with 97 goals allowed this year. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.57%. They give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 9th place in the league. The Rangers have a total of 41 points this year, which is 11th in the NHL. They have 23 power play goals on 110 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks their power play unit 9th. They've allowed 109 power play opportunities and have given up 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%, which is 5th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Toronto has a Corsi percentage of 49.3% as they've tried 2,137 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,195 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 21st in Corsi percentage. They are 26th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48% as they have 1,569 shots while they've given up 1,699 attempts on defense. The Maple Leafs start possessions in the offensive zone 47.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 52.2% for the year. That puts them 27th and 7th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,151 face-off wins as opposed to 1,104 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That is 13th overall in the NHL. On defense Toronto has 766 hits and they've blocked 496 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 22nd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Rangers are 20th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.1% for the season, which is 14th in the NHL. They have 1,010 face-off wins compared to 1,029 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.5%. That is 18th in the league. On defense New York has 720 hits and they have blocked 534 shots from the opposition, which is 8th in the league. New York is 26th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.6% as they've attempted 1,945 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,140 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 47.9% ranks 25th as they have 1,476 attempts while they have given up 1,606 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take New York

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