Dean Etheridge
It’s an all Canadian affair when the Maple Leafs host the Jets at the Scotiabank Arena on Thursday evening, and here we look ahead to the match with our free NHL betting picks.
- What; NHL
- Who; Toronto Maple Leafs vs Winnipeg Jets
- Where; Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Canada
- When; Thursday, January 19th, 2023
- Puck Drop; 7 pm ET
Both of these teams are doing well in their respective divisions. The Maple Leafs sit second in the Atlantic Division. And although they are over ten points behind the Bruins, they can’t be too down hearted. The Bruins have run away with the division, and there is only second place left to play for here.
As for the Jets, they are in the mix to win the Central Division. Rick Bowness’ team are right up there competing with the Dallas Stars to top the table. At the time of writing, they sit second.
Latest Stanley Cup Winner Betting
But where do these two sides sit when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup? Well, in the case of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the answer is, they sit very well. The Maple Leafs are the second favorites in the latest 2023 Stanley Cup winner betting..
The Maple Leafs are +625 with the best NHL betting sites, a slight drift from the +600 they were earlier in the week. The favorites are the Maple Leafs’ Atlantic Division rivals, their nemesis, the Boston Bruins at +500. In fairness to the Bruins, they’ve been the best side in the NHL this season and thoroughly deserve their favorites tag.
Behind the leading two sides with the bookmakers come the Carolina Hurricanes (+800) and the Colorado Avalanche (+800). The Hurricanes have stuttered a little lately. But apart from that they’ve looked the real deal so far this season. As for the Avalanche, their price seems to be getting held up by how good they were in their 2021/22 cup winning campaign. It’s certainly not based on this season’s form!
Below we have put together an odds table with odds to win the 2023 Stanley Cup taken from the best NHL betting sites.
| Stanley Cup Winner Betting for 2023 |  |  |  |
| Boston Bruins | +500 | +500 | +500 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | +625 | +600 | +600 |
| Colorado Avalanche | +800 | +750 | +750 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | +800 | +900 | +850 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | +1000 | +1200 | +1150 |
| Dallas Stars | +1600 | +1300 | +1200 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1600 | +1400 | +1400 |
| New Jersey Devils | +1600 | +1600 | +1600 |
| Minnesota Wild | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Calgary Flames | +2200 | +1900 | +2000 |
| New York Rangers | +2200 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Edmonton Oilers | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Winnipeg Jets | +3300 | +3000 | +28000 |
| Seattle Kraken | +3500 | +4000 | +4000 |
The Maple Leafs are looking for a bit of consistency
The Maple Leafs’ odds to win the 2023 Stanley Cup have been shortening. But this is despite their form being a bit up and down of late. In their last ten matches their record reads 5-4-1, which is far from world beating.
They did end a two match losing streak on Tuesday when they defeated the Panthers 5-4 at the Scotiabank Arena, with overtime required to secure the win. The person updating the Maple Leafs’ Twitter feed sure enjoyed the win!
LEAFS WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWIN!!@LGCanada | #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/FD4HCSm3Jm
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 18, 2023
And the win was much needed after back-to-back defeats away to the Bruins (4-3) and the Red Wings (4-1).
Overall this season, things have been good for Toronto. Sheldon Keefe has a young up and coming team, and it’s fair to say they are progressing well. One thing that young teams (in any sport) can be guilty of is inconsistency. At the moment, that seems to be the Maple Leafs’ biggest problem.
There is still a long way to go this season though. And if the Maple Leafs can find some consistency towards the latter end of the season, they could be in with a chance of finally getting their hands on that Stanley Cup again.
Jets good run brought to an abrupt end by the Canadiens
The Jets have just seen a good three match winning run brought to a surprising end by the Montreal Canadiens, of all teams. The Canadiens thrashed the Jets 4-1 at the Bell Centre, in a result that hasn’t got Rick Bowness panicking. The Jets’ head coach just put it down as one of those nights where nothing clicked, and made no excuses for the defeat.
Décollage réussi!
Cooled their Jets. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/HuFdBMaceV
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 18, 2023
Prior to the disappointing loss, the Jets had beaten the Coyotes 2-1, the Penguins 4-1, and the Sabres 4-2. They will certainly need to be performing to this standard – as opposed to the Canadiens’ performance – if they wish to get anything out of the game against the Maple Leafs tonight.
Maple Leafs vs Jets Betting
The best NHL betting sites are naturally favoring the home side to win this all Canadian showdown. On the moneyline, Bovada has the Maple Leafs at -170, with the Jets at +145. You can read more about this top NHL sportsbook in our Bovada review.
The handicap market sees the Jets get the +1.5 start, and with the helping hand Winnipeg is -170. The Maple Leafs at +145. While in the total goals market, over 6.5 is +100, and under 6.5 is -120.
The Maple Leafs have won three of their last five at home. Of those three wins, one was in overtime, one was by one goal, and one was by three goals. There is no evidence to support backing them to win on the handicap.
The Jets have lost two of their last four on the road, but have just lost heavily to the Canadiens, where they looked very weary. Have they recovered from this? Or are they having a slight dip in form?
There seems to be a fair bit of the unknown about both sides at the moment. So I’m going to go for a win on the moneyline for the Maple Leafs as my pick.
With both sides not firing on all cylinders at the moment, I also feel under 6.5 has to be the pick on the total goals line.
