Toronto Maple Leafs at Chicago Blackhawks NHL Picks & Predictions 10/7/2018

Sunday, October 7, 2018

United Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head to United Center to take on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, October 7, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Maple Leafs at -141 and the Blackhawks at +108.

Toronto had a record of 49-26-7 last year and away from home they had a record of 20-16-5-2. They were 3rd in the Atlantic Division. They tallied 277 goals and surrendered 232 goals for a point differential of +45. For the year they had an ATS mark of 52-37-0 and an over/under record of 46-37-0. Chicago finished with a record of 33-39-10 including 9-14-3-1 on home ice last year. They were 7th in the Central Division. They scored 229 goals and gave up 256 for a goal differential of -27. Their record against the spread was 33-49-0 while their over/under mark was 37-41-0.

Valuable Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs were 52-37-0 straight up last year

The Toronto Maple Leafs were 46-37-0 against the over/under last season

Important Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

The Chicago Blackhawks were 33-49-0 straight up last year

The Chicago Blackhawks were 37-41-0 against the over/under last season

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Chicago Blackhawks Injuries

10/05/18 GO Anton Forsberg Undisclosed is questionable Saturday vs St. Louis
10/05/18 GO Corey Crawford Concussion is out indefinitely
10/04/18 D Connor Murphy Back is out indefinitely
10/01/18 D Gustav Forsling Wrist is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Mitch Marner scored 69 total points last year for the Maple Leafs. He had 22 goals last season with 194 shots on net giving him a shooting percentage of 11%. He had a total of 47 assists on the year and averaged 16.4 minutes played per contest. Auston Matthews averaged 18.1 minutes of ice time per game last season. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 18% by tallying 34 goals on 187 attempts. He had 29 assists giving him a total of 63 points on the year. Frederik Andersen had 38 wins and 21 losses last season in goal for the Maple Leafs. He had 2,211 shots against him and he surrendered 182 goals. He made 2,029 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Jonathan Toews had 52 total points last season for the Blackhawks. He had 20 goals last year with 211 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He had a total of 32 assists on the year and averaged 19.7 minutes played per contest. Patrick Kane averaged 20.2 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 27 goals on 285 attempts. He had 49 assists giving him a total of 76 points on the year. Jean-Francois Berube had 3 wins and 6 losses last season in net for the Blackhawks. He had 398 shots against him and he gave up 42 goals. He made 356 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs had 105 total points last year, which was 6th in the NHL. They scored 277 goals while giving up 232 scores, which had them ranked 2nd and 20th respectively. They had 224 power play chances and scored 56 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 25%. That was 2nd in the league. The Maple Leafs gave up 231 power play opportunities and surrendered 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking them 11th when short-handed. They averaged 32 shots per contest and as a team shot 10.49% for the year. They allowed 34 shot attempts to their opposition per game and had a team save percentage of 92%, which was 4th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blackhawks were 25th in the league with a total of 76 points last season. They had 43 power play goals on 269 chances for a percentage of 16%. That was 28th in the NHL. They gave up 236 power play opportunities and surrendered 49 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 20th overall. As a team, the Blackhawks were 22nd with a total of 229 goals scored while they gave up 256 goals last season, ranking 9th in goals against. They averaged 34 shots per game and had a team shooting percentage of 8.20%. As a unit they gave up 33 shots per contest and had a save percentage of 91%, putting them 19th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Toronto was 15th in the league in Corsi percentage last season with 50.2%, as they tried 4,998 shots on net at full strength while giving up 4,965 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 49% as they had 3,709 attempts while they gave up 3,861 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 21st in the NHL. The Maple Leafs started possessions in the offensive zone 48.9% of the time, which was 22nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 51.1% for the season. That was 10th overall in the NHL. They had 2,688 face-off wins compared to 2,499 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 51.8%. That ranked them 6th in the league. On defense Toronto had 1,632 hits and they blocked 1,104 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Chicago was 4th in the league in Corsi percentage last season with 52.2%, as they tried 5,272 shots on net at full strength while giving up 4,832 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 50.7% as they had 3,738 attempts while they gave up 3,633 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 14th in the NHL. The Blackhawks started possessions in the offensive zone 55.7% of the time, which was 2nd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 44.3% for the season. That was 30th overall in the NHL. They had 2,472 face-off wins compared to 2,547 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 49.3%. That ranked them 21st in the league. On defense Chicago had 1,376 hits and they blocked 1,199 shots from the opposition, putting them 17th overall.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Toronto -141

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