The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the road for a pair of weekend games following a five-day break, starting at Madison Square Garden on Friday when they take on the New York Rangers as +120 road underdogs at Sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto went into their layoff on a 7-2-1 run, including victories in five of their past six road dates heading into Friday night’s Maple Leafs vs. Rangers betting matchup.
The Maple Leafs’ recent surge has also lifted them into the playoff hunt in the Atlantic Division, where they sit just five points back of second-place Boston with six games in hand, and four points back of third-place Ottawa.
The Rangers won five of six prior to their five-day layoff this week, and return to action just three points back of the Metropolitan-leading Columbus Blue Jackets. New York has also taken four straight games from the Maple Leafs, outscoring Toronto by a 7-4 margin in a pair of home wins.
Following Friday’s clash, the Maple Leafs travel to Ottawa for a date with the Senators on Saturday night. Ottawa is coming off a 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins as +130 home underdogs on Thursday, and have posted five straight wins over Toronto, including three victories at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames continue a stretch of three games in four nights on Friday when they host the New Jersey Devils as betting favourites before traveling north to Edmonton to face the Oilers, who topped them in two meetings back in October.
The Montreal Canadiens limp home following a 7-1 beating on Thursday in Minnesota as +145 underdogs to face the Rangers on Saturday night. The Canadiens have fallen in two of three outings overall, and are winless in their past two games at the Bell Centre, but remain at strong +600 odds to claim this season’s Eastern Conference crown.
The Winnipeg Jets are also in action on Friday night, visiting the Arizona Coyotes as -140 chalk before traveling to Los Angeles on Saturday in search of a fourth straight win over the struggling Los Angeles Kings.
Lastly, the Vancouver Canucks look to end a three-game slide when they return home to face the Devils on Sunday. The Canucks dropped a 5-4 shootout decision to the Philadelphia Flyers as +160 road underdogs on Thursday, failing to post a win during a three-game road trip, but are unbeaten in five straight at Rogers Arena.