The New York Rangers are on the road to play the Toronto Maple Leafs in a pivotal Eastern Conference matchup with the puck drop set at 7 p.m. ET. New York (3-0-1) enters the contest on the back of a 5-2 road win over the Detroit Red Wings. On the other hand, Toronto (3-1) is coming off a 6-2 home win over the Los Angeles Kings.
Rangers vs. Maple Leafs: Head-to-head & key numbers
- New York is 238-284-95-9 all-time against Toronto
- The Rangers are averaging five goals per game.
- The Maple Leafs are allowing 1.75 goals per game.
- New York is allowing 2.25 goals per game.
- Toronto is averaging 3.5 goals per game.
New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Preview & Prediction
The New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs are two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, and this should be a great game.
Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube has been pleased with his team's game but said they were sloppy at times against the Kings.
“I thought our special teams were excellent, our goalie was really good,” Berube said, via NHL. “We had a good first period I thought, got a lead. Second period, they came out and pushed hard early and I thought we regained our poise and our game but in the third, I thought we were just sloppy a little bit.”
The Rangers and Maple Leafs have two of the best offenses in the NHL to begin the year, but both teams are playing excellent in net.
Toronto's power play got rolling against the Kings which could boost its offense, as the hope is it can carry that momentum into the Rangers game.
“It’s always good to get that power play going,” Leafs' Auston Matthews said. “Obviously it wasn’t great the first couple games, just trying to find it a little bit, so any time you see the puck go in on the power play a couple times, you can take that momentum and just continue to build off it.”
New York is led by star goalie Igor Shesterkin, who has a 2.28 GAA and a .921 SV%. Shesterkin is tough to beat, but he has to go up against one of the best offenses in the NHL.
Ultimately, the Rangers should be able to go on the road and get a big win here against the Maple Leafs.
Prediction: Rangers 3, Maple Leafs 2.
Rangers vs. Maple Leafs: Betting Tips
Tip 1: New York ML.
Tip 2: Under 5.5 goals
Tip 3: Alexis Lafreniere over 0.5 points.