Trent Reinsmith
- Date & Location: Wednesday, October 27 at United Center in Chicago
- Odds: Toronto Maple Leafs (-155) vs. Chicago Blackhawks (+140) via BetOnline.
- Prediction: Maple Leafs to beat Blackhawks
Two storied franchises who are both struggling in the early going of the 2021-22 NHL season face off on Wednesday night in Chicago when the Blackhawks meet the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs are 2-4-1 this season. Chicago has yet to win its first game of the season. The Blackhawks have posted an 0-5-1 record in 2021-22.
Toronto won two of its first three games to start the season, but the team is currently on a four-game losing skid and coming off a 4-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. The Blackhawks last played on Sunday. They dropped that game to the Red Wings by a score of 6-3.
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Toronto Maple Leafs Analysis
The Maple Leafs sported a potent offense last season. The team finished sixth in the league in goals (186) and racked up 1,751 shots on goal, which was also good enough for sixth in the NHL. Mitchell Marner (67 points) and Auston Matthews (66 points) led the team in scoring. Both players finished in the top-five in the NHL in scoring and Matthews was by far the best goal scorer in the league with 41 goals.
The Leafs are currently 25th in the league in scoring with 13 goals for, which is 10 fewer goals than they have surrendered this season. Toronto has only scored one goal in five of its games and have no games with more than three goals scored.
Jack Campbell has been decent in net with a .915 save percentage and a 2.39 goals against average, but he needs better offensive support to thrive. Campbell finished last season with a .921 SV % and a 2.15 GAA.
Maple Leafs to defeat Blackhawks -169 via Sportsbetting.
Chicago Blackhawks Analysis
Chicago’s offense was middle of the pack last year, ranking 16th in goals per game and 19th in shots per game. Patrick Kane was the high scorer for the Blackhawks club with 66 points (15G, 51A). Alex DeBrincat was the second-highest scorer on the team with 56 points. He led Chicago in goals with 32, which was 15 more than Dominik Kubalík who was the second-best goal scorer for the Hawks.
Chicago has scored 12 goals this season and given up 27. The Blackhawks have not scored more than three goals in a game this season.
Marc-Andre Fleury has not given Chicago the goaltending it expected when it signed him in the offseason. Fleury has a SV % of .839 and a GAA of 5.75 early this season. He has not posted a sub .900 SV % in a season since 2005-06 and his highest GAA in a season was 3.64 in 2003-04. Fleury joined the NHL in 2003-04.
Blackhawks to defeat Maple Leafs +140 via Bovada.
Our Final Pick
As poor as the Leafs have been, the Blackhawks have been worse. Chicago might also be without Kane in this game. The team’s best player missed Sunday’s game after being placed in COVID-19 protocol.
While neither team is lighting it up this year, the Maple Leafs are the deeper and better club right now and they will keep the Hawks winless in 2021-22.
Maple Leafs to defeat Blackhawks -155 via Betonline.
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