Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Minnesota Wild - 12/31/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Toronto Maple Leafs vs Minnesota Wild

Date: Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Location: Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN

TV: FSN/RSN

Odds/Point Spread: Maple Leafs (-130) Wild (+118)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Frederik Andersen and the Toronto Maple Leafs (21-14-5, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) travel to Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday where they'll take on the Minnesota Wild (19-16-5, 5th in the Central Division). The line on this contest has the Maple Leafs coming in at -130 and the Wild are at +118. The O/U has been set at 6. The Maple Leafs are covering 51.3% of the time, having gone 20-19 SU. Minnesota is covering 46.2% of the time, going 18-21 straight up.

The Toronto Maple Leafs head into this game holding a record of 21 wins and 14 defeats, putting them at 2nd in the Atlantic Division. During the season thus far, they have converted a total of 141 goals which puts them at 1st in the East and 1st in the NHL. Their goal differential is +12, putting them at 8th in the NHL. The Maple Leafs have compiled a total of 47 points, which puts them at 11th in the NHL and 7th in the East. When looking at shots on goal, they have compiled a total of 1,356 which puts them at 2nd in the East and 4th in the NHL. As a group, Toronto has collected a total of 669 hits which means they have an average of 16.7 per game. They have compiled a total of 426 blocks for the year. The man in net for Toronto is Frederik Andersen from Barrie, Ontario. He is 30 years old and has racked up 1,856 mins protecting the goal this year. Andersen is allowing 2.72 goals per game which places him at 11th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 19th in the NHL. For the season, he has given up 84 goals. He holds a save % of .914 which places him at 9th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will need a bounce back game after taking a 5 - 4 loss against the New York Rangers in their last game. The Maple Leafs had a great offensive game plan going into this one and it showed in this defeat. While out there on the ice, they netted 4 out of the 48 shots they attempted. Furthermore, they had 2 power play attempts and were able to net 1 goal out of those tries. Toronto racked up a total of 6 penalty minutes in this matchup. The Corsi for the Maple Leafs sat at 76 and the Corsi against was 50 which means they earned a Corsi percentage of 60.3%. Their Fenwick was 60 while the Fenwick against was 44, telling us they have a Fenwick percentage of 57.7%. They earned 43 face-off wins and lost 21 tries to control the puck. Their offensive zone starts came in at 63.9% and they had a PDO of 93.3 for this one. With regard to the opposition's stats, the New York Rangers racked up 38 shots. They had a total of 8 penalty mins and they earned 1 power play opportunity.

The Wild will be the team across the ice and for the year they have 19 wins and 16 losses. When looking at goal differential, they are sitting 9th in the Western Conference and 22nd in the NHL with -8. They have compiled a total of 124 goals for this year which ranks 6th in the conference. Minnesota has a save % as a team of .896 which is good for 26th in the NHL, which means scoring chances could be plentiful if they attack the goal. They are shooting 10.8% which puts them at 2nd in the conference. In net for Minnesota is Devan Dubnyk who is having a tough season by surrendering 3.24 GAA and that has him ranked 30th in the West and 57th in the NHL. In the 1,001 minutes he's been on the ice this season, he's surrendered 54 goals. His save percentage is .898, which has him sitting 25th in the West and 51st in the NHL.

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The Minnesota Wild opposed the New York Islanders in an outing where the Wild ended up taking the loss by a score of 3 - 1. While out there on the ice, Minnesota earned a 55.8% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 53 and their opponent having a Corsi of 42. Their Fenwick rate came in at 56.1% by notching a Fenwick of 37 and the Islanders ending the game with a 29 Fenwick. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Minnesota had and it could be said that this team has had better games. Their PDO at even strength was 92.0 and they had an oZS percentage of 55.9%. The Wild notched 1 goal of the 26 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play opportunities in this one but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. In discussing their opponent, the Islanders had 2 power play attempts but didn't tally a goal. Minnesota gave up 28 shots on goal and the Islanders had 8 penalty minutes.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Minnesota (+118)

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