The Toronto Maple Leafs will be searching for their first win in five dates on home ice when they take on the slumping Washington Capitals on Wednesday as -160 betting favourites on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Toronto had its longest slump of the season extended with a 4-2 loss to the visiting Arizona Coyotes on Sunday, and has now fallen to defeat in seven of its past 10 overall contests going into Wednesday night’s Capitals vs. Maple Leafs betting matchup at Scotiabank Arena.
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Offensive production has emerged as a massive problem for the previously high-flying Maple Leafs. Toronto has tallied just three total goals while coming up short in its past two contests, and has been limited to two or fewer goals on five occasions during the team’s current swoon, including shutout losses on home ice to Nashville and the New York Islanders.
The Maple Leafs have also been hit by the injury bug of late. Defenceman Jake Gardiner’s status for Wednesday night remains uncertain after missing the team’s loss to Arizona as heavy -280 chalk, while forward Andreas Johnsson remains sidelined with a concussion suffered in Sunday’s contest.
The team’s recent struggles have suddenly placed Toronto’s previously confident playoff aspirations in jeopardy. The Maple Leafs maintain control of second place in the Atlantic Division standings, but sit just one point up on both the Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens, and just two points up on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
While the Maple Leafs continue to sit alongside the Winnipeg Jets at a respectable +800 on the Stanley Cup odds, they have been forced to watch as both Calgary and San Jose move past them on the NHL futures during their current slump.
The Capitals travel to Toronto pegged as +130 underdogs on the heels of a sixth straight defeat, a 7-6 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks as -135 home chalk. Washington’s current slide marks the team’s longest losing streak since dropping seven in a row in January 2014. The club has also struggled on the road this month after closing out 2018 with wins in nine of 10 away from Capital One Arena, coming up short in four of six.
Defence has been a real issue for the Capitals during their current swoon. With Tuesday’s loss, the club has given up seven or more goals in three of their past four outings. However, the Capitals have won three straight in Toronto, and have limited the Maple Leafs to two or fewer goals in five of eight overall visits to Scotiabank Arena since January 2015.
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