Expect star goalies to battle in Toronto as they face off against one of the best road defenses in the NHL with New Jersey.
Tuesday kicks off the week with a solid slate of NHL action with a handful of marquee matchups including a clash between two of the best in the East with the Toronto Maple Leafs taking on Jack Hughes and the New Jersey Devils. Both teams are conference contenders with the goal of being able to finally get past the Florida Panthers. The Devils are off to a fiery 4-1-0 start to the season while the Buds sit at 3-2-1 with some troubling losses against the Kraken and a pair of losses to the Red Wings that they'll hope to make up for.
With a packed schedule and plenty of betting opportunities, it promises excitement across the league. We’re looking to build on our early-season momentum and continue the strong player prop success that fueled last year’s run with Mitch Marner, Mark Scheifele, Wyatt Johnston, Rasmus Dahlin, Teuvo Teravainen and Connor Hellebuyck.
All betting lines are from BetMGM Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Sign up with BetMGM, make a deposit, and place your first wager on any game using your First Bet Offer token. If that bet with the token applied loses, you’ll get your original stake paid back in Bonus Bets, up to $1,500! Get in the game today with BetMGM.
Rookie Defenseman Shocks NHL as Early Calder Trophy Front-Runner
An 18-year-old defenseman is shattering expectations, logging elite minutes and dominating the early Calder Trophy race against a loaded rookie class.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs New Jersey Devils Best Bets:
Under 6.5 Goals (-142)
Leafs ML (-115)
Under 1.5 First Period Goals (-105) Longshot Pick
The Buds have dominated this matchup in recent years with a 14-2-1 record over their last 17 games versus the Devils and enter Tuesday on a three-game winning streak. New Jersey will look to break their curse in this matchup and exorcise some demons fittingly, while on the road. These two have normally produced high-scoring affairs with six or more goals in six of their last seven matchups which is surprising considering the quality of the goaltenders.
The Devils hope to build on the strong early-season play of goaltender Jake Allen, who’s off to a hot 2-0-0 start with a 1.88 goals-against average and an impressive .934 save percentage. Allen owns a respectable 10-8-1 record with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage in 22 career appearances against the Maple Leafs. However, his performance has dipped recently, allowing 22 goals over his last five matchups with Toronto.
On the other side, Maple Leafs star goalie Anthony Stolarz will aim to improve his 2-2-1 record and raise his .897 save percentage closer to last season’s league-leading .926 mark, despite a respectable 2.79 goals-against average so far. Allen has also found success against the Devils, going 2-1-1 with a 2.13 GAA and a stellar .935 save percentage over seven career games, giving up more than two goals only twice.
Although it goes against the usual trend in this matchup, it seems likely that one of these goaltenders will step up with a strong performance, resulting in a low-scoring game. This aligns with Toronto’s profile, as the Leafs were among the league’s top home teams last season, posting a 27-13-1 record and ranking inside the top eight in home defense by allowing just 2.51 goals per game. Meanwhile, the Devils were one of the NHL’s best road teams, finishing 25-17-2 with the league’s third-ranked road defense.
New Jersey has allowed just two goals in the first period so far this season and this continues their trend from last season on strong defense early with the fourth-fewest goals allowed in the first period. As our longshot pick, we look to load up on all the unders we can and will trust that the Devils will be able to limit the Leafs enough early on that it'll force Toronto to do the same.
Western Michigan Offers Shocking Value, In-State Rivals Reload for NCAA Title Push
Despite being the defending champions and preseason number one, Western Michigan is a major value at +2000 odds as a proven team overlooked in a market focused on hype over results.