The New York Rangers are sitting tight atop the Metropolitan Division. They’ll have had four days of rest before welcoming the Toronto Maple Leafs to Madison Square Garden. New York impressed in its last outing at home, beating the Calgary Flames 4-1on Sunday.
Toronto is struggling as the Maple Leafs continue their transition to new head coach Mike Babcock. The Leafs have won just once this season, and are heading into this matchup on the heels of four straight losses.
Will the Rangers defend their house? Or will the Leafs get an upset? Read on for a breakdown of this matchup. Catch some NBA action in New York with our complete preview for the Hawks vs. Knicks.
[sc:NHLArticles ]Toronto Maple Leafs vs. New York Rangers Preview
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York
When: Friday, October 30, 7:00 PM ET
Line: Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers – view all NHL lines
Betting on the Toronto Maple Leafs
A horrible penalty kill unit had the Toronto Maple Leafs losing their eighth game this season. They allowed the Arizona Coyotes two power play goals in the first period of a 4-3 loss on Monday night. The Leafs have been horrible this season, ranking 20th in goals per game (2.4) and 27th in goals against (3.3). Even their special teams are struggling, ranking 27th in power play percentage (8.7) and 28th in penalty kill percentage (28th).
[sc:NHL240 ]While the Leafs have struggled to find the back of the net, they have not struggled to get off on shots. Toronto ranks second in the league with 33 shots per game. Nazem Kadri leads the team with 35 shots this season, but has scored just one goal. He has still been productive with four assists this year. Leading the scoring is James van Riemsdyk with four goals on 27 shots, while Leo Komarov has four goals on just 17 shots on goal.
The Leafs have a pretty favorable matchup ahead against the New York Ranger, who allow 31.9 shots per game. Peppering the Rangers with plenty of shots on goal should give the Leafs some favorable bounces. But they’ll need their defense to hold up with Jonathan Bernier between the pipes. Bernier is yet to win a game this season going 0-4-1 with a 3.02 GAA.
Bernier has mostly struggled against the Rangers in his career, going 2-1-2 with a 3.18 GAA. The last four of his starts against New York have all been decided by one goal.
The Leafs have lost four of their five games away from home this season.
Betting on the New York Rangers
The Rangers continue rolling having won three of their last five games. They hope to have found their groove after a 4-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday. New York has now won three straight in Madison Square Garden ahead of this home matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Dan Girardi scored the game-winning goal Sunday night, putting the Rangers up for good in the second period. It was his first goal this season, passing Mark Messier for 10th on the Rangers’ career games played list. Having a savvy veteran like Girardi should help some of New York’s young players, such as Oscar Lindberg, adjust to life in the league well.
Lindberg leads the Rangers with seven points and five goals this season. He’s having a splendid season skating alongside Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller in the third line. The Rangers have a very deep forward rotation. Mats Zuccarello (four goals) and Derek Stepan (three goals) power the first line with Derrick Brassard (three goals) in the second. Scoring will come aplenty for the Rangers against Toronto’s patchy defense.
Starting on goal will be Henrik Lundqvist, who’s posted solid numbers going 4-2-2 with a 1.97 GAA and .941 save percentage this season. But he’s faced the most shots among goalies this season (272). The Rangers’ blue line will need to give him better coverage if they are to continue winning games. Lundqvist is 12-8-5 with a 2.84 GAA in 25 career games against the Maple Leafs.
The total has gone over in four of the last five matchups.
Writer’s Prediction
The Rangers extend their home win streak with a dominant victory over Toronto. Create a betting account now and get some fast-paced hockey action.
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