Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins Predictions, Picks and Odds Feb 17

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins Predictions and Betting Preview

WagerTalk NHL handicapper Kevin Dolan offers his Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins predictions and betting preview for Thursday, February 17. At the time of posting, this Eastern Conference showdown has Toronto at -150 to win, with the total sitting at 6 goals.

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Thursday, February 17	NHL Betting Notes, Courtesy of Caesars
Moneyline:	Toronto Maple Leafs -150 vs Pittsburgh Penguins +130
Puckline:	Maple Leafs -1.5 (+160) / Penguins +1.5 (-190)
Total:	6 Goals (Over -130 / Under +110)
Game Time:	7:05pm ET / 4:05pm PT
Arena:	Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON
TV:	ESPN+

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins Analysis

Two of the best teams in the East face off on Thursday night as the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Pittsburgh Penguins up in Toronto.

Pittsburgh are looking for their fifth straight win while Toronto look to put together consecutive wins after losing back-to-back games against the Flames and Canucks respectively.

This will be the team’s third meeting this season with Pittsburgh holding a 2-0 advantage over Toronto by a 9-1 aggregate scoreline across both games.

Crosby Setting Records in Pittsburgh

Sidney Crosby continues to set records.

The 34 year old center scored his 500th career goal on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers and will look to keep that momentum going into Thursday.

In terms of scoring, Pittsburgh is putting up an impressive 3.34 goals per game this year, good for top ten in the league, but it’s on defense where the Penguins have really been impressive this season, averaging the league’s 3rd fewest opponent goals per game.

Toronto Strong at Home

The Toronto Maple Leafs have the second strongest home advantage in the East this season, posting a 17-4-1 overall record inside the Scotiabank Arena and winning six straight games there heading into Thursday’s contest against the Penguins.

A lot of Toronto’s success this season has stemmed from their power plays, leading the league in overall power play percentage this season at 31.54%.

That will be well matched tonight however as Pittsburgh have given up the fewest power play goals out of any team in the league this year.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction

While both teams are playing some excellent stuff offensively this season, we nevertheless expect this one to go Under the total on Thursday night north of the border.

Both Tristan Jarry and Jack Campbell are expected in nets tonight for both teams and both goalies have been excellent so far this year.

Both Jarry and Campbell rank top ten in the league on overall GSAA average this season with each goalie ranking 7th and 5th respectively on quality start percentage this season out of any keeper with double-digit starts.

On top of that, Toronto are the 7th best team in the league this season on overall expected goals against and 9th on opponent high danger scoring chances allowed, so we expect this one to be a lower scoring affair here on Thursday night with both defenses stepping up in this one.

Prediction: Under 6 Goals

Interested in placing a bet on Thursday night’s Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins clash? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.

Puck Time

Join Carmine Bianco, Andrew McInnis and The Prez for Thursday’s edition of Puck Time at 11am ET / 8am PT as our panel of professional hockey handicappers break down tonight’s NHL betting card, including this Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins contest.

WagerTalk Live Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the NHL moneylines, puck lines and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s NHL games, including this Toronto Maple Leafs vs Pittsburgh Penguins showdown, from your desktop or phone.

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