LiontipsToronto vs. Anaheim. NHL match prediction and bets
Command Analysis
Current form
Toronto is in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and has already earned 36 points. The team did not start this season in the best way and for some time was outside the playoff zone, but over the past month it has improved its affairs and gained good form. However, not long ago, after a series of three victories, two defeats followed. Thus, the Leafs beat Nashville (3:2) on their home ice, after which they lost to Washington (2:3) and Pittsburgh (2:5). Fortunately, in the last confrontation with New Jersey, they found the strength in themselves and broke the losing streak, defeating their opponent with a score of 2:1 in overtime.
In the last game with the "devils", Craig Berube team had a very difficult time, since for most of the match he was forced to defend and in a couple of periods he made literally six shots. Fortunately, in the third period, the "leafs" took advantage of the situation and ran away to a counterattack while short-handed, and Patrik Holmberg made great use of his chance. Auston Matthews put a fat point in overtime, for whom this puck was the ninth in a row, and now he has 19 points in the goal + assist system.
Overall, Toronto is at its strongest in the second twenty minutes, where it currently has a 34:22 ratio of goals scored and goals conceded and almost never fails to produce any results in this period.
Disqualifications and injuries
Hakanpaa, McMann, Kempf, McCabe, Jarnkrok, Klingberg out of upcoming game due to injury
Interesting trends for betting
- Toronto has an 83% power play neutralization rate at the moment.
The team is currently one of the best in this indicator and ranks fifth in the league.
- Toronto wins 52.6% of faceoffs
At the point, the "leaves" show their best side and often reserve the face-off procedure for themselves
Current form
Anaheim has almost the same problems this season as last year, so it could not initially claim to get into the playoffs. The team is in the process of rebuilding, so no one should be surprised by the fact that it is in the basement of the standings. Note that at the moment it occupies the 14th place in the Western Conference and has earned a total of 24 points. As a rule, victories are very difficult for it, and it gets them with a difference of one goal or outside of regulation time. Now the "ducks" are on a series of four defeats.
Before that, they failed to cope with Vegas (1:4) and Minnesota (1:5) on their home ice, and in the current away series they have already lost to Montreal (2:3 SO) and Ottawa (1:5). By the way, in three out of four games, Greg Cronin team was left with only one goal scored and showed extremely weak offensive play. Even in the match with the Senators, they made 32 shots, but were able to score their only goal only in the 53rd minute, when they were already losing 0:5.
Overall, the club remains one of the worst in the league in terms of scoring today and is rarely able to score more than two goals. In addition, Anaheim has difficulties with the power play, as it ranks 29th in the league in this indicator and has only a 14.8% power play conversion rate.
Disqualifications and injuries
Suchanek, Zegras, Fabbri, Karlsson will not play in the upcoming meeting due to injury
Interesting trends for betting
- Anaheim has a 14-21 goal-against ratio in the second period.
The Ducks score the least in the second period compared to the rest of the twenty minutes.
- Anaheim gets 8.41 penalty minutes
On average, the Ducks are sent off at least four times per game.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
In four out of five matches between the teams, the first period ended with two or more goals
1.80Bet 3rd period: guests will score
In three out of five matches, the visitors scored goals in the third period
1.80Tip and bets
We wouldn’t write Anaheim off completely in this matchup. Toronto hasn’t been as consistent as fans would like as of late, and has barely recovered from a two-game losing streak. Plus, aside from two crushing head-to-head losses, the Ducks have been able to put up a decent fight against their opponents most of the time, and have only lost outside of regulation time. The Ducks should probably pull themselves together after their poor performance against Ottawa and play their best, so we don’t think they’ll lose by three or more goals.
Prediction - Anaheim win with Asian handicap (+2.5) on goals for 1.65
Bet on individual total
Anaheim often faces problems with scoring and can't score more than one or two goals, but in return, compared to many competitors, it also concedes quite a few. The Leafs, in turn, couldn't even score three goals in the last two matches, and in three out of five matches against the Ducks, they scored less than four times. Based on this, it makes sense to bet on their individual total.
We take the individual total of Toronto under four goals with a coefficient of 1.70
Total Bet
There is a high probability that in this matchup Toronto will try to deal with the opponent on class and save energy before matches with more difficult opponents. That is why we do not expect the Leafs to force the events. Rather, they will try to play more reliably in defense, and the Ducks will not open up much either after a big defeat the day before.
We bet on total under 5.5 goals for 2.20
