Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New Jersey Devils - 12/27/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Toronto Maple Leafs vs New Jersey Devils

Date: Friday, December 27, 2019

Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

TV: MSG+/RSNO

Odds/Point Spread: Maple Leafs (-192) Devils (+160)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

MacKenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils (12-19-5, 8th in the Metropolitan Division) host the Toronto Maple Leafs (20-14-4, 2nd in the Atlantic Division) at Prudential Center on Friday, December 27, 2019. The Maple Leafs open this contest at -192 while the Devils are coming in at +160. The over/under has been set at 5.5. The Maple Leafs are covering 51.4% of the time, having gone 19-18 SU. The Devils are covering 31.4% of the time, going 11-24 straight up.

The Toronto Maple Leafs come into this matchup with a record of 20 victories and 14 defeats, which puts them at 2nd in the Atlantic Division. During the season thus far, they have earned a total of 132 goals which ranks them 2nd in the conference and 3rd in the league. Their goal differential is +12, which puts them at 9th in the league. The Maple Leafs have earned a total of 44 points, which ranks them 11th in the league and 7th in the East. When discussing shots at the opposition, they have earned a total of 1,271 which ranks them 2nd in the conference and 4th in the league. As a team, Toronto has collected a total of 650 hits which has them averaging 17.1 per contest. They have earned a total of 413 blocks for this season. The man looking after the net for Toronto is Frederik Andersen from Barrie, Ontario. He is 30 years old and has played 1,796 mins minding the goal for the year. Andersen is surrendering an average of 2.64 goals per contest which places him at 11th in the East and 18th in the NHL among goalies. Over the course of this year, he has given up 79 goals. He has a save percentage of .916 which places him at 8th in the East.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs went home feeling good about their game by earning a 8 - 6 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in their last game. The Maple Leafs had a solid offensive outing in this win. For this game, they earned a goal on 8 of the 39 shots they attempted. In addition, they had 4 power play chances and were able to notch 2 goals out of those chances. Toronto earned 6 penalty mins for this matchup. The Corsi for the Maple Leafs was 55 and the Corsi against was 46 which gave them a Corsi percentage of 54.5%. Their Fenwick was 46 and the Fenwick against was 40, which means they had a rate of 53.5%. They earned 22 face-off wins and were beaten on 25 of all total face-offs. Their offensive zone starts came in at 53.8% and they had a PDO at even strength of 103.3 for this game. Concerning opponent stats, the Carolina Hurricanes tallied a total of 40 shots. They had 8 minutes in the box and they earned 3 power play attempts.

The Devils are the team on the other side of the ice and for the season they have 12 wins and 19 losses. When looking at goal differential, they currently sit 15th in the conference and 30th in the NHL with -34. They currently have a total of 90 goals for the year which is good for 15th in the conference. New Jersey has a save percentage as a team of .890 which currently has them ranked 28th in the NHL, meaning scoring chances could be plentiful if they are aggressive. They have a team shooting percentage of 8.1% putting them at 14th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for New Jersey is MacKenzie Blackwood who is having an average season by giving up 2.81 goals per game and that places him 14th in the East and 25th among goalies in the NHL. In the 1,517 minutes he's been on the ice this season, he's allowed 71 goals. He has a save percentage of .909, which has him placed 15th in the East and 33rd among goalies in the NHL.

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The New Jersey Devils played the Chicago Blackhawks in a matchup where the Devils got the victory by a mark of 7 - 1. For this game, New Jersey earned a 54.6% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by having a Corsi of 59 while their opponent had a Corsi of 49. Their Fenwick rate came in at 57.4% by way of having a Fenwick of 39 and the Blackhawks having earned a 29 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that New Jersey played and they looked good in this game. They had a PDO at even strength of 112.7 and their oZS percentage was 53.8%. The Devils notched 7 goals out of the 44 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play attempts in this one but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal. In discussing their opponent, the Blackhawks had 7 power play chances but weren't able to take advantage of it. New Jersey gave up 33 shots on goal and the Blackhawks earned 13 penalty mins.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take New Jersey (+160)

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