The two best Canadian teams in the NHL will face off on Thursday, April 22 when the Toronto Maple Leafs head on the road to take on the Winnipeg Jets. The Maple Leafs have really struggled recently, but they still hold the top spot in the NHL’s seven-team, Canadian-only North Division with the Jets on their heels with less than a month to go in the regular season. Thursday night’s game will get started at 7 p.m. ET from Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Toronto had a six-game winning streak going, but the Maple Leafs followed that up with a five-game losing streak that they will bring with them to this matchup. The Vancouver Canucks went through a brutal COVID-19 outbreak and went nearly four weeks between games, but they returned to the ice earlier this week and won two straight against Toronto despite still not having a full roster assembled.
The Maple Leafs still find themselves in great shape overall from how well they’ve played throughout the entire season, and they are atop the North Division with 61 points due to a record of 28-13-5 in 46 games. They are four games ahead of the second-place Jets.
Winnipeg is also coming into Thursday night’s game following a loss, a 3-0 defeat against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. Prior to the loss, the Jets had won five of their last six games to gain ground on the Maple Leafs down the stretch. The Jets are one point ahead of the Oilers for second place with 57 points and a 27-15-3 record through 45 games.
The Maple Leafs have a number of players injured at this point of the season with Frederik Anderson, Zach Bogosian, Zach Hyman, Riley Nash and Scott Sabourin all out of the lineup. In addition, Ilya Mikheyev missed the previous game and is questionable to return to the ice.
For Winnipeg, the Jets are without Nathan Beaulieu and Bryan Little the rest of the season, and Jordie Benn is out indefinitely as he is on the COVID-19 protocol list. After missing Blake Wheeler since April 5 with a concussion, but he is probable to return for the Jets on Thursday night.
The Maple Leafs lead the season series between these two teams 4-3, but Winnipeg won the last matchup on April 15 in a 5-2 game in Toronto. The two will play again on Saturday, April 24 and are scheduled to close out the regular season on May 14. Both games are in Winnipeg.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Winnipeg Jets Betting Info
Below is a look at some of the major betting categories ahead of Thursday night’s game along with some of the most recent trends for both teams. All odds are via a popular United States sportsbook.
Puck Line
The Jets are getting -225 odds to cover the +1.5 goals on the puck line with the Maple Leafs at +185 to cover -1.5.
Betting Trends: Toronto has covered the puck line just 15 times in 45 games this season, while the Jets have covered at a 32-13 pace this season.
Total Goals
Oddsmakers set the over/under for Thursday’s game at six with odds slightly favoring the over. Over bets would receive a -117 payout with the under at -105.
Betting Trends: The over hit in 14 of the last 20 games between these two teams.
Moneyline
The Maple Leafs are favored to come away with a victory despite their recent losing streak. They are getting -136 odds on the road, while the Jets are at +118 to win outright as home underdogs.
Betting Trends: The Maple Leafs are 0-5 on the moneyline in their last five games, and the Jets have won five of their last seven games outright heading into Thursday night’s game.
