New York Islanders vs. Toronto Maple Leafs - 1/4/20 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: New York Islanders vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: MSG+/CBC

Odds/Point Spread: Islanders (+144) Maple Leafs (-160)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Semyon Varlamov and the New York Islanders (25-11-3, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division) go to Scotiabank Arena on Saturday where they'll take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (23-14-5, 2nd in the Atlantic Division). The Islanders open this contest at +144 while the Maple Leafs are priced at -160. The total is set at 6. The Islanders cover 61.1% of the time, having gone 22-14 SU. Toronto covers 53.7% of the time, going 22-19 straight up.

The New York Islanders head into this matchup holding a record of 25 victories and 11 losses, which puts them at 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have racked up a total of 112 goals which ranks 13th in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the league. Their goal differential is +11, which puts them at 10th in the league. The Islanders have a total of 53 pts, which ranks 5th in the league and 4th in the conference. With regard to shots toward the net, they have a total of 1,115 which ranks 16th in the East and 31st in the league. As a team, New York has a total of 1,121 hits which means they have an average of 28.7 per contest. They have a total of 566 blocks for the year. The man between the pipes for New York is Semyon Varlamov from Kuybyshev, USSR. He is 31 years old and has been on the ice a total of 1,367 mins in goal this season. Varlamov is conceding an average of 2.41 goals per contest which puts him at 6th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 10th in the NHL among goaltenders. For the season, he's allowed 55 goals. He holds a save percentage of .921 which puts him at 5th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The New York Islanders will need a bounce back game after taking a 2 - 1 loss against the New Jersey Devils in their previous contest. The Islanders left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in the loss. In this outing, they finished 1 of the 30 shots they attempted. They also had 2 power play attempts but weren't able to score a goal. New York ended up with 6 penalty minutes while out there on the ice. The Corsi for the Islanders was 59 and the Corsi against at even strength was 68 which means they earned a Corsi percentage of 46.5%. Their Fenwick was 38 while the Fenwick against was 53, which gave them a rate of 41.8%. They earned 26 face-off wins and were beaten on 23 of the face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 45.2% and they had a PDO of 96.7 in this one. Concerning opponent stats, the New Jersey Devils racked up a total of 31 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty mins and they earned a total of 2 power play opportunities.

The Maple Leafs will be looking to get a victory in this matchup and for the current year they have 23 wins and 14 losses. Regarding goal differential, they rank 5th in the East and 7th in the NHL with +18. They have earned a total of 151 goals for the year which puts them at 1st in the conference. Toronto has a save % as a team of .903 which has them ranked 16th in the NHL, meaning scoring chances could be there if they are opportunistic. They are shooting 10.7% which is good for 5th in the East. In net for Toronto is Frederik Andersen who is having a marginal season by giving up 2.67 goals per contest and that has him ranked 10th in the East and 16th among goaltenders in the NHL. In the 1,976 mins he's been on the ice, he has given up 88 goals. His save % is .916, which has him sitting 8th in the East and 17th among goaltenders in the NHL.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs went up against the Winnipeg Jets in a game where the Maple Leafs earned a win by a score of 6 - 3. In this game, Toronto earned a 43.4% Corsi rating. They got to that percentage by earning a Corsi of 49 while their opponent had a Corsi of 64. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 41.6% by notching a Fenwick of 37 and the Jets earning a 52 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Toronto played and it was an excellent showing for this outing. They had a PDO of 116.9 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 33.3%. The Maple Leafs scored 6 goals out of the 28 shots on goal they pursued. They had 4 power play chances in this outing and were able to convert 1 out of those chances. As for the opposition, the Jets had 2 power play chances and were able to tally 1 goal. Toronto conceded 48 shots on goal and the Jets earned 8 penalty minutes.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Toronto (-160)

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