Minnesota Wild vs Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction, 10/14/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: Sportsnet

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (+135) Maple Leafs (-167)

Scotiabank Arena is the site where the Toronto Maple Leafs (50-21-11 last year) will attempt to beat the Minnesota Wild (46-25-11 last season) on Saturday. The moneyline on this matchup has Minnesota at +135 and Toronto is priced at -167. The over/under is 7.

The Minnesota Wild came out of this game feeling pretty good about themselves with a 2-0 win against the Panthers in their previous game. The Wild could have played much better offensively in this victory. In the game, they netted 2 out of the 21 shots they launched. They also had 4 attempts on the power play and were able to notch 1 goal. Minnesota accounted for 10 penalty minutes for this matchup.

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When it comes to their scoring capabilities, the Minnesota Wild earned 239 goals (23rd in the league) over the course of the prior season and allowed 219. For last season, they racked up 103 points and their points percentage was .628. Minnesota tallied 252 power play chances and scored 54 goals during those chances, giving them a rate of 21.43%. While playing at even strength, the Wild gave up 173 goals while scoring 185. Minnesota took 2,535 shots and had a shooting percentage of 9.4%. The Wild had 2,552 shots attempted against them and held a save percentage of .914. Minnesota Wild opposition had 256 power play opportunities (14th in professional hockey) and racked up 46 goals in those attempts.

Patrolling the crease for the game will be Filip Gustavsson. Opponents have tallied 160 goals against Gustavsson in his pro hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.51. Gustavsson has played in 66 games throughout his professional hockey career. He has a save percentage of .920 during his 3,831 mins guarding the cage. He has an overall mark of 32-22-10 and he has gotten the start in 60 games. For his career, Gustavsson is sitting with 40 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .667. Gustavsson has had 2,001 shots taken against him and has accrued 1,841 total saves.

In their last contest, Toronto played the Canadiens in a matchup where the Maple Leafs got the tie by a final score of 5-5. They had 4 power play attempts in this game and netted 2 out of those tries. The Maple Leafs recorded 5 goals of the 42 shots on goal they pursued.

Toronto attempted 2,628 shots (12th in the league) and had a shot percentage of 10.58%, while allowing the other team 2,420 shots. They had a penalty kill rate of 81.85% on the other team's 248 power play opportunities, and their save percentage was at 90.9%. They recorded 246 opportunities on the power play and they have accumulated a power play percentage of 26.02%. The Maple Leafs racked up 214 goals at even strength and 64 goals (5th in hockey) while having a power play advantage. They granted a total of 220 goals to be scored by of a combination of 175 goals at even strength and 45 goals while they had less men on the ice. Last season, the Toronto Maple Leafs earned a total of 278 goals, 111 points, and a points percentage of .677.

For the opposition you are going to see Ilya Samsonov defending the net. The opposition is averaging 2.65 goals/game and he has relinquished 324 goals overall. Samsonov's rate of quality starts sits at 50.4% and he has 60 quality starts in his career. He has been a starter 119 games and has played 7,341 minutes. Samsonov is sitting with a lifetime record of 79-32-13 and has participated in 131 contests. He is sitting with 3,193 saves out of the 3,517 shots attempted, which gives him a save % of .908.

Who will win tonight's NHL game against the spread or moneyline?

Tony's Pick: Take Toronto (-167)

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