Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Maple Leafs vs Penguins NHL Odds
Looking for Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Maple Leafs taking on the Penguins on Saturday December 17th at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(20-7-3) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (11-11-6)
Date: Saturday December 17th
Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds:
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds:
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
Live NHL Odds
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The Maple Leafs take the short trip to Pittsburgh to face off against the top-team in the Metro Division, in the Crosby-led Penguins.
Toronto remains afloat above the .500 level, but barely as their six points above have all come via the OT Loss.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Auston Matthews has taken over the team-lead in points for the Buds, a team that currently sits in 8th overall in goals per game at 2.9.
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The new guard has transitioned in Leaf Land, with Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander now taking over as the future in Toronto.
The team, while ripe with top young talent as mentioned, is still a work in progress, especially on the defensive side.
Morgan Reilly is a solid young, puck-moving defenseman and tops the Leafs’ scoring from the back end with 15 points while leading the team in ATOI at 22:49.
It will likely be Frederik Andersen between the pipes on this Hockey Night in Canada matchup. He enters the game with a .916 SV% and a 2.74 GAA and an 11-7-4 record on the season.
Pittsburgh Penguins
All eyes will be on superstar Sidney Crosby, who currently leads the NHL in goals with 21. He enters the game on a nine-game point streak, which is also a league-lead, and has a legitimate possibility to net 50-in-50, currently sitting at 21 goals in 24 games.
It hasn’t just been a one-man show in PA though, as the team as a whole sits in first in goals for, averaging 3.5 per contest.
Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel each sit with double digit totals in the goal column as well, with 12 and 10 netted respectively.
While the Leafs are on their way up, they are early in their rebuild and haven’t gone through the entire process that Pittsburgh knows very well through their five-year rebuilding process in the early 2000’s that made them respectable again.
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Matt Murray has taken over the starter reigns in the Penguins’ crease.
He’s now up to 14 appearances on the year and is clearly the better option for the Pens, carrying a .935 SV% and a 1.93 GAA, compared to his counterpart, Marc-Andre Fleury’s .900 and 3.42.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Toronto is 3-6-5 on the road this season
- Toronto has a total goal differential of -6 on the year
- Toronto has only been shutout two times this season
- The trio of Crosby, Malkin and Kessel has the most points of any teams’ top-3 in the league
- Pittsburgh is 13-2-1 on home ice
- Pittsburgh has won seven games in a row
Free Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Hockey Prediction:
The Pens look like they’re an unstoppable force right now, and Toronto is certainly a moveable object. While I think Pittsburgh routes the Leafs on this HNIC primetime game, I like the over the most.
Pittsburgh has scored three or more goals in each of their past nine games, averaging a total of 5.1 per game over that span. I’ll let that sink in for a minute… FIVE goals per game in their last 10 games.
All Toronto needs to do is chip in one of their own and we got the over. Shouldn’t be a problem considering they sit in 8th overall in goals per game.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: OVER 5.5
Toronto also sits in 23rd overall in goals allowed and the Pens are not much better, at 21st.
NHL Free Score Prediction: Toronto-2 – Pittsburgh-5
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