Something’s got to give when Toronto takes on Columbus. The Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets have begun their respective seasons on depressing losing streaks, with the Jackets in particular leaking in goals like crazy. The skid is finally going to stop for one of these teams, but which one: the perennial losers on the road, or the one that has seemingly has no home-ice advantage?
Read on as we preview this crucial matchup between two increasingly desperate teams. And for more Friday NHL action, check out our previews of the Canes vs. Red Wings and Avs vs. Ducks.
[sc:NHLArticles ]Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Preview
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus
When: Friday, October 16, 2015, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Toronto Blue Jays (+155) at Columbus Blue Jackets (-175), total 5.5 – view all NHL lines
Betting on the Toronto Maple Leafs
As expected, Toronto is still pretty bad. After finishing way down in seventh in the Atlantic last season and trading their best player Phil Kessel over the offseason, the Leafs have started the new season with three straight losses.
[sc:NHL240 ]To be fair to them, though, they have not had an easy schedule start to the year. Their first three opponents (Montreal, Detroit and Ottawa) were playoff teams last season, and are a combined 10-1-0 to start this year. Moreover, they played those games in a hectic four-day span.
To the Leafs’ credit, they still had the energy to fight back last time out against the Sens. They came back from a 3-0 deficit to force a shootout, which they eventually lost. The remaining stars on the team came up big in that game. Tyler Bozak and Joffrey Lupul both got on the scoresheet, while captain Dion Phaneuf had two assists.
Despite the lack of quality, there’s still a lot of pride in this team and head coach Mike Babcock still has his team playing hard. They’ll be desperate to get off the schneid for the season, and they won’t have a better chance of doing so than against a struggling Columbus team.
However, the trends do not favor the Leafs, who have gone an incredible 1-19 away from the Air Canada Centre dating back to last season. They will also have James Reimer in goal in Columbus. Reimer is 0-3-0 with a 5.40 GAA in three career starts against the Blue Jackets.
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Betting on the Columbus Blue Jackets
No NHL team has had a worse start to this season than Columbus. The Blue Jackets are the first team to lose four games (all in regulation) and have coughed up 20 goals, the worst defensive record in the league.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has let in 18 of those 20 goals, including six in the Jackets’ 7-3 spanking at home against the Senators. With Bobrovsky himself admitting his complete lack of confidence, it seems like just a matter of time before head coach Todd Richards takes him out of the starting lineup in favor of Curtis McElhinney.
On the bright side for Columbus, marquee offseason acquisition Brandon Saad is paying immediate dividends. The Stanley Cup winner is the team’s leading scorer with three goals in his first four games, including two in his last two, while Ryan Johansen has five points and four assists.
The Blue Jackets still have the talent in their team to turn things around, but they’re struggles at home are still quite troubling. After owning the worst home record in the East last season (19-20-2), Columbus has lost each of its first two home games this year.
Writer’s Prediction
Despite their slow start, the Blue Jackets still have a lot of talent in their team. That talent will show as they beat the Maple Leafs, 4-3, with the total going over 5.5.
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