NHL Odds: Will Stumbling Leafs Break Out Vs. Shorthanded Golden Knights?

Now that the NHL season is a few weeks old, we should better understand how each team is playing this year. However, not every club is living up to expectations, and others are exceeding them.

Our Tuesday bets will be concerning the Vegas Golden Knights at Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. ET and the New York Rangers at Vancouver Canucks at 10 p.m.

Let’s pop open another tab, take a look at the FanDuel Sportsbook, and figure out precisely what is in store for us Tuesday.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Moneyline: Golden Knights +155 | Maple Leafs -188
Spread: Golden Knights -172 (+1.5) | Maple Leafs +140 (-1.5)
Total: Over 6 (-102) Under 6 (-120)

Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, William Karlsson, Alex Tuch, Nolan Patrick, Mattias Janmark and Zach Whitecloud. There’s no denying that Vegas has a ton of talent, but that’s the list of players that are out of the lineup right now. The Golden Knights’ defense is relatively healthy in comparison, Whitecloud being the exception, but the team is pretty beat up. The expectations of both of these clubs are high this season, but where the Golden Knights carry four years of pressure, the Maple Leafs have a hundred. Every year is Toronto’s year, and that’s especially true since it assembled its young core. However, the Leafs have stumbled out of the gate in 2021-22. Toronto expects it to be an offensive juggernaut, but the club only averages 2.33 goals per game; that’s 27th in the league.

Meanwhile, Vegas is 22nd in the NHL with 2.5 goals per game and now it is missing a plethora of forwards. We all assume that at some point, the Leafs’ offense is going to break out, but we also don’t want to chase bets on a team that hasn’t quite clicked yet. Expect the Leafs to win, but don’t bet on a blowout just yet.

The Picks: Maple Leafs Moneyline (-188), 1st Period Puck Line: Maple Leafs +140 (-0.5), Total Goals: Under 6 (-120), 60 Min Maple Leafs Total Goals: Under 3.5 (-146)

New York Rangers vs. Vancouver Canucks
Moneyline: Rangers -138 | Canucks +115
Spread: Rangers -1.5 (+186) | Canucks +1.5 (-235)
Total: Over 5.5 (-110) | Under 5.5 (-110)

We’re going to throw some numbers at you right off the bat. New York scores 2.44 goals per game, while Vancouver manages just 2.33 goals per game, which falls under 5.5. However, we also have to look at how many goals each team allows. The Rangers give up on average 2.11 goals per game, and the Canucks allow 2.67, which again falls short of 5.5. Betting on the over or under isn’t as simple as basic math, but it at least gives us a pretty good indication that this probably won’t be a high-scoring affair. So far this season, the Rangers have been finding their stride. New York’s mixture of veterans and prospects has been meshing well early, and its goaltending has been getting a lot of attention from around the league. The Rangers also just locked up the reigning Norris winner Adam Fox to a long-term deal, so here’s hoping that adds a little extra motivation for him to showcase that he’s worth the money. It might be a crazy Hail Mary, but this one could easily end 3-2 in favor of the Rangers.

The Picks: Rangers Moneyline (-138), Total Goals: Under 5.5 (-110), 60 Minutes Correct Score: Rangers 3-2 (+1900)