The Toronto Maple Leafs have won five straight games over the Winnipeg Jets
Monday has a solid slate of NHL games with some exciting storylines to look out for. The Winnipeg Jets look to keep their historic eight-game winning streak alive against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Sharks look to win their first game of the season and avoid a tenth straight loss when battling Utah and the Predators travel to Tampa Bay for the return of longtime captain Steven Stamkos.
It'll be a thrilling night of games and we hope to add to it with some of our Best Bets. We've been red hot lately with 9-3 record over our last 12 picks, including six straight wins heading into Monday.
All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Maple Leafs ML (+100), Maple Leafs Jets Over 6.0 goals (-115), Mark Scheifele anytime goal (+155), Auston Matthews anytime goal (-120)
This is the most perfect spot for the Leafs. They've lost three straight games, while allowing 15 goals and scoring only six goals in response. Everyone is down on them and doubting they have a chance with 81 per cent of the bets on the game being on the Jets.
Winnipeg has a rough history versus Toronto with just four wins over their last 14 matchups, including five straight losses. Netminder Connor Hellebuyck is normally the answer when the Jets are in a tough matchup but in his career versus the Leafs, he has just seven wins with a 3.07 goals against average and a .906 save percentage over 21 games.
Toronto has struggled on the defensive end as of late which makes the over seem like a solid play here as Jets forward Mark Scheifele has gone without a goal in three straight games and excels in this matchup with four goals and 11 assists for 15 points over his last 11 games versus Toronto. He should keep the Jets close but not enough to down the hungry Maple Leafs.
Superstar Auston Matthews should get the Leafs on the board as he has a solid history versus Winnipeg with six goals and four assists for ten points over their last six matchups.
Bet: Predators ML (+135), Steven Stamkos anytime goal (+160)
The Lightning made an interesting choice in the offseason when they made an insultingly low offer to their longtime captain Steven Stamkos after his contract expired. With that in mind, he moved on from the organization and went to Music City to play with the Predators.
Stamkos has struggled to the adjustment of his new team as he recorded just one point over his first eight games this season. He should get a chance to improve on that against his former team, who is struggling on the backend, allowing 19 goals over their last five games.
Nashville will look to take advantage as they started off the season slow with five straight losses but have since responded with three straight wins. They can look to rally around Stamkos and win a big game in his return.
Bet: Dylan Guenther anytime goal (+155), Logan Cooley Over 0.5 points (+110)
The Sharks have had a slow start to the season once again as they become the first team in NHL history to begin back-to-back seasons with eight straight losses. It means they'll be due at some point and we don't want to be on the losing end of that which means we should look away from the moneyline.
Instead, we look to exploit the Sharks brutal backend that is allowing 4.22 goals per game which is second-worst in the league. This could be a great matchup for Dylan Guenther, who started off the season red hot with five goals over his first three games but has since gone without a goal.
This is a perfect spot for him to bounceback and get on the board which means his linemate Logan Cooley should get on the board.
Cooley is third on the team in points, tied with Guenther for seven and should be able to find his way on the scoresheet against a bad defence. Utah will be motivated as they've lost three games in a row and should push the Sharks in a competitive game.