The Toronto Maple Leafs could have Auston Matthews back in the lineup when they play host to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday as -140 favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto has been without Matthews since he suffered a shoulder injury in the club’s 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Oct. 27, but has played well of late by posting wins in nine of 12 outings ahead of Wednesday night’s Sharks vs. Maple Leafs betting matchup at Scotiabank Arena.
The Maple Leafs are coming off a pair of victories to open their current three-game homestand, following up last Thursday’s 6-0 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers as -145 chalk with an important 4-2 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins as -160 favourites on Saturday night to become the first team to post 17 wins this season.
However, Toronto’s winning ways have failed to separate the club from the pack in the competitive Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs sport a 17-8-0 record, good for fourth overall in the NHL standings, but enter Wednesday’s action looking up at both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres in the division standings.
That has failed to shake the club from its perch atop the Stanley Cup odds, where they continue to lead the way as +475 favourites to end their 52-year championship drought.
The Sharks make the trip north of the border as +115 underdogs after dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to the Sabres as -145 favourites on Tuesday night.
With the point earned in Tuesday’s loss in Buffalo the Sharks take over control of top spot in the Pacific Division standings. But San Jose has fallen to defeat in the first two outings on its current five-game road trip, extending an inconsistent 10-game stretch during which they have posted consecutive wins just once.
Overall, the Sharks have struggled on the road during the first quarter of the season, going 4-5-3 in 12 dates away from the SAP Center. San Jose has scored just five total goals while losing four straight on the road, all as betting chalk, including shutout losses to the Vegas Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues.
The Sharks have also won just four of their last 14 road dates against Eastern Conference opponents, but have otherwise been strong performers in visits to Toronto, picking up the win in seven of eight dates at Scotiabank Arena since 2002 according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
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