Two Of East’s Best Battle
The Toronto Maple Leafs reached the 40-point mark at home (18-3-4) – second most in the league – with four goals in the second period of Monday’s 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders for their fifth straight win at home.
The Leafs went into Tuesday tied for second in the East with 66 points and the New York Rangers tied for fifth with 59 after gaining at least one in nine of their last 11 contests (7-2-2).
New York is a solid 14-5-3 on the road and reigning Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin boasts points in 12 of 13 starts away from home (9-1-3, .931 save percentage).
Shesterkin is the likely starter on Wednesday after making 33 saves in the 6-2 triumph over the visiting Florida Panthers on Monday as the Rangers shuffled their forward lines to rebound from a one-goal effort in a loss to the Boston Bruins last Thursday.
According to the NHL playoff odds, Toronto is (+550) for the third-best choice to win the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are +900 for sixth.
Let’s check the latest NHL news, stats, injury reports, and NHL lines for the Rangers vs Maple Leafs. We’ve got plenty of NHL picks for you to consider.
Nylander Leading Leafs
Forward William Nylander had two goals and added a pair of assists in Monday’s victory over the Islanders to tie Mitch Marner for the team lead with 56 points. Nylander has four goals and five assists over the past four games to push his career total to 399 points.
Reigning Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews is also on a hot streak with eight goals in his last 10 games and captain John Tavares has compiled 13 of his 47 points over his past 10 contests.
Toronto has shown improvement on defense this season, allowing 2.63 goals per game after giving up 3.07 in 2021-22. Ilya Samsonov could make his fourth straight start and is 13-0-1 (.939 SP) at home while fellow goalie Matt Murray is 4-1-1 at Scotiabank Arena, but owns an .883 overall save percentage in January.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone under in the Maple Leafs’ last four games after a win.
New Lines Spur Rangers
New York coach Gerard Gallant changed his top three forward units in the victory over the Panthers, and each trio produced at least a goal and three points.
Leading scorer Artemi Panarin (50 points) had three assists in Monday’s win after being reunited with Chris Kreider and center Mika Zibanejad, who scored twice and added a helper. Jimmy Vesey also scored while skating with Barclay Goodrow and Vincent Trocheck. The kid line was also put back together as Kaapo Kakko, along with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere, combined for six points. Lafreniere notched his first goal in 18 games.
Defenseman Adam Fox, who won the Norris Trophy in 2021, had three points Monday to move within two of the team lead and has a gaudy +11 rating in January.
According to NHL betting lines, the under is 20-8-1 in the last 29 games the Rangers have played against the Atlantic Division.
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Game Injuries
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Head-to-Head
New York managed a 3-1 victory over the visiting Leafs on Dec. 15 as Vesey scored twice and Shesterkin made 22 saves for his fourth win in five career starts against Toronto.
The Rangers have won five of the previous six meetings overall and, despite the offensive firepower on both teams, the under is 3-1 in the past four contests when betting online.
The Maple Leafs are 27-7-4 overall against Metropolitan Division teams in the last two seasons and 13-5 in their past 18 games when their opponent scored five or more in the previous contest.
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Game Information
- Game: Rangers (26-14-7) vs Maple Leafs (29-11-8)
- Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto
- Day/Time: Wednesday, Jan. 25th, 7 p.m. ET
- Rangers vs Maple Live Stream: NHL.TV
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Lines
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Picks and Prediction
The last time the Rangers scored at least six goals in a game, they lost three of the next four and the under is 10-2-1 in the past 13 games after New York scored at least five times.
However, the underdog is 5-1 in the last six meetings. New York is 22-25 against the spread (ATS) overall this season while Toronto is 20-28.
You would expect both teams to concentrate on defense in a potential Eastern Conference championship matchup and the Rangers faced the Panthers third-string goalie Alex Lyon on Monday..
New York is listed at +135 in our Las Vegas NHL odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Rangers, you have a chance to win +135. Toronto is -155, offering a chance to win $65 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives New York a 42.55% chance to win, with the Maple Leafs at 60.78%.
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Trends
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Edge
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Results
Rangers vs Maple Leafs Game Summary
