Toronto Maple Leafs at Vegas Golden Knights NHL Picks & Predictions 12/31/2017

Sunday, December 31, 2017

T-Mobile Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs travel to T-Mobile Arena to play the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, December 31, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Maple Leafs at +109 and the Golden Knights at -120.

Toronto has a record of 23-14-2 this season and on the road they have a record of 12-9-2-1. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 132 goals and given up 112 goals for a point differential of +20. For the season they have an ATS record of 23-15-0 and an over/under record of 19-16-0. Vegas is 25-9-2 including 15-2-1-1 at home this season. They are 1st in the Pacific Division. They've scored 126 goals and surrendered 103 for a goal differential of +23. Their record against the spread is 25-11-0 while their over/under record is 21-13-0.

Valuable Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 23-15-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 19-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vegas Golden Knights Betting Trends

The Vegas Golden Knights are 25-11-0 straight up this year

The Vegas Golden Knights are 21-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

12/30/17 C Nazem Kadri Upper Body is upgraded to probable Sunday vs Vegas
12/29/17 GO Curtis McElhinney Lower Body is "?" Sunday vs Vegas
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 Vegas Golden Knights Injuries

12/17/17 D Luca Sbisa Lower Body IR (12/11)
11/30/17 LW William Carrier Upper Body IR (11/26)
10/31/17 GO Oscar Dansk Lower Body IR (10/30)
10/06/17 D Clayton Stoner Abdominal IR (10/02)

Player Spotlight

Auston Matthews has accumulated 29 total points this season for the Maple Leafs. He has 15 goals this year with 91 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 14 assists on the season and averages 18.6 minutes played per game. Nazem Kadri averages 16.2 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 13 goals on 95 shots. He has 10 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the season. Frederik Andersen has 20 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Maple Leafs. He has 1,059 shots against him and he's given up 82 goals. He's made 977 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

James Neal has scored 27 total points this year for the Golden Knights. He has 17 goals this season with 102 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 10 assists on the season and averages 17.5 minutes played per game. David Perron averages 17.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 9 goals on 55 shots. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 29 points on the season. Marc-Andre Fleury has 7 wins and 2 losses this year in goal for the Golden Knights. He has 288 shots against him and he's surrendered 18 goals. He's made 270 saves for a save percentage of 94%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs have 48 total points this season, which ranks them 9th in the NHL. They are 3rd in the league in goals scored with 132 while they've given up 112 goals, ranking them 14th overall. They have had 110 power play opportunities and have scored 25 goals on those chances for a percentage of 23%. That is 5th in the NHL. The Maple Leafs have allowed 124 power play opportunities and have given up 22 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 12th in the league when short-handed. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.95% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 9th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Golden Knights are 2nd in the NHL with a total of 52 points this year. They have 23 power play goals on 123 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks them 19th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 112 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%. That is 22nd in the NHL. As a team, the Golden Knights are 5th in the league with 126 goals scored while they've given up 103 goals, which is 25th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.82%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 19th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Toronto has a Corsi percentage of 49.2% as they've tried 2,309 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,384 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 22nd in Corsi percentage. They are 27th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 48.1% as they have 1,701 shots while they've given up 1,839 attempts on defense. The Maple Leafs start possessions in the offensive zone 48.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.8% for the year. That puts them 27th and 6th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,258 face-off wins as opposed to 1,215 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 12th overall in the NHL. On defense Toronto has 809 hits and they've blocked 545 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 20th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Golden Knights start possessions in the offensive zone 50.5% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the year. That ranks them 17th and 15th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,133 face-off wins as opposed to 1,126 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That is 21st in the league. On defense Vegas has 689 hits and they've blocked 580 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 8th in blocked shots. Vegas is ranked 13th in Corsi percentage with 51% as they've tried 2,183 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,095 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 10th in the NHL at 51.8%, as they have 1,630 shots while they've given up 1,515 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Vegas -120

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