NHL Odds, Preview, Expert Pick & Prediction: Maple Leafs vs Rangers (April 13)
Pictured: Goaltender Jaroslav Halak. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)
- The Maple Leafs and Rangers close out the regular season at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.
- Both sides are headed to the postseason, so motivation may be lacking in this one.
- Jonny Lazarus previews the game and shares his best bet for Maple Leafs vs Rangers below.
Maple Leafs vs. Rangers Odds
| Maple Leafs Odds | +108 |
| Rangers Odds | -130 |
| Over/Under | 6.5 (-104 / -118) |
| Time | 7 p.m. ET |
| TV | MSG |
The New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs will both be playing their final game of the 2022-23 NHL regular season on Thursday night.
Neither of these teams have much to play for as both are locked into their playoff positions. The Rangers are going to be the third seed in the Metropolitan Division and the Maple Leafs have secured home ice as the second seed in the Atlantic Division.
The Rangers are expected to sit some of their players in order to rest up for the playoffs. In short, this should not be a very intense game between the Maple Leafs and Rangers.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have clinched home ice in the first round and will be taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second straight postseason.
The Leafs do have a little bit to play for in this game as they can secure home ice for the later rounds in the playoffs if the Bruins end up losing. Still, I don't expect Toronto, which has won three straight games, to play with a ton of urgency.
Toronto has looked very strong defensively in its past five games and has only allowed nine goals in that span. Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov have split the time in goal. Woll has won his past two straight starts, skating to a .922 save percentage and a 2.oo goals against average, while Samsonov went 2-1-1 in his past four starts, boasting a 1.34 goals against average along with a .950 save percentage.
They haven't announced their lineup for this game yet, but the Maple Leafs have gone 1-4 in their past five trips to Madison Square Garden.
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers will most likely be sitting most of their key players in this game. Whether they win or lose, it will have absolutely zero impact on their spot in the playoffs.
Jaroslav Halak will be getting the start in goal and is skating to a 10-8-5 record with a .904 save percentage and a 2.71 goals against average this season.
The Rangers have won two of the three contests against the Leafs this season and have taken five of a possible six points. They did, however, lose the most recent matchup, 3-2 in overtime.
The most important thing for the Rangers in this game is staying healthy. They don't want anyone getting injured before the postseason and I don't expect a very physical effort. In fact, I believe they will have a very nonchalant performance.
Maple Leafs vs. Rangers Pick
This is going to be a strange game because the only focus for both teams is being ready to go next week.
In the past five meetings between these two, the under has hit four times. Even though this isn't the goaltending matchup everyone gets excited for, I do believe Halak and whoever gets the nod for the Leafs will have a strong showing.
The under has been a trend for both of these teams and since there won't be much intensity in this game, I predict it will be low-scoring.
Pick: Under 6.5 |
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