Two of the top teams in the North Division will close out a hard-fought three-game series on Saturday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Winnipeg Jets as -190 betting favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Both of these teams have come away with a narrow victory through the first two games of this series, capped by Toronto’s 4-3 triumph on Thursday night that marked its first win in four games going into Saturday night’s matchup at Scotiabank Arena.
In addition to halting the team’s first three-game slide of the season, Thursday’s victory also solidified the Maple Leafs’ position atop the division, where they now lead Winnipeg by six points. Toronto faced some uncharacteristic struggles on offence during its recent swoon, scoring just six total goals over its three recent losses. However, the Maple Leafs have averaged 37 shots on goal over their past four outings, and sport a 10-4-1 record at home.
The Jets will be aiming to avoid suffering consecutive losses for just the second time this season when they hit the ice on Saturday as the +165 underdogs at online betting sites. Winnipeg has recorded just three wins in its last six outings, but has managed to avoid any extended slumps. However, concerns remain about a sputtering Jets attack that has tallied just 2.71 goals per game over their past seven games. Complicating matters is a porous Winnipeg defence that has allowed 33 or more shots in five of seven outings, and almost 3.5 goals per game during that stretch, fueling a 5-0 run for the OVER in totals betting.
Elsewhere on the Saturday NHL odds, the Montreal Canadiens will close out a two-game set in Calgary as a -110 wager at sportsbooks, while the Vancouver Canucks play host to the Edmonton Oilers as +105 underdogs.
The Canadiens took a step back on Thursday after marching to a decisive 5-1 win in Vancouver earlier in the week. Montreal mustered just 18 shots on goal in a 2-1 loss to the Flames, which marked the team’s lowest shot count in a game since February 2017. Overall, the Canadiens have posted just one win in their last seven road dates, and have been held to a single goal in each of their past three away losses.
The Flames, meanwhile, hope to build on Thursday’s impressive shutdown performance that earned newly hired head coach Darryl Sutter the win in his first game back behind the bench. Calgary has work to do to snap out of an inconsistent 5-5-2 run, but the Flames have picked up at least a point in three straight home contests.
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