Wednesday’s NHL slate might not be the busiest. Still, we have a very interesting matchup between a pair of contenders as the Colorado Avalanche head East to face Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 PM ET. Colorado is coming off an 8-4 thrashing of the Montreal Canadiens but lost star Arrturi Lehkonen in the process to a brutal finger injury. Conversely, Toronto just lost to the Buffalo Sabres Monday, a game they should’ve won. Find the Avalanche vs Maple Leafs prediction below.
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The Leafs, second in the stacked Atlantic Division, are the favorite for Wednesday’s game with -140 odds at BetOnline. The Avs come back at +127. The goal total is 6.5, with the over being comfortably hit in three straight meetings. Toronto won two of them. The last matchup ended 6-2 in favor of the Maple Leafs.
The Avalanche remain in contention for the playoffs, but it’s been a brutal campaign for them regarding health. Gabriel Landeskog has not played this season and could be out until the postseason. That’s one of their top scorers sidelined. Then to make matters worse, Lehkonen is out for 4-6 weeks after his injury. The Finland native has 20 goals and 29 assists in 2022-23 and will be sorely missed for this stretch run. Nonetheless, Colorado is managing to stay afloat, and the win over the Habs was their second in a row. The offense exploded, with seven players finding the back of the net. Nathan MacKinnon scored and set up another, while Valeri Nichushkin added a goal and two assists, too. The Avs are now 6-3-1 in the last ten outings and will finish up this East Coast road trip in Toronto, Ottawa, and Detroit before returning to the Mile High City.
The Leafs surely look like a contender right now, and although the Eastern Conference is stacked with talent, they will like their chances come playoff time. Toronto owns a 40-18-8 record for 88 points in 66 contests, ranking eighth in the league in goals per game (3.42) and seventh in goals allowed (2.7). This offense is led by a true four-headed monster with Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner. Nylander is the show’s star with 35 goals and 44 assists, while Matthews has 31 goals and 36 assists. However, the Maple Leafs are fresh off a disappointing game at home against a Sabres team not as good as them. Sheldon Keefe’s group had a two-goal lead in the second period but allowed Buffalo to score four, including three in the third period. It wasn’t the typical defensive performance we’re used to seeing from Toronto. Needless to say, they will be motivated to respond here against Colorado. Plus, the Leafs are 24-7-4 at home. Certainly a good sign.
After such a gut-wrenching defeat, I expect Toronto to bounce back. Take the moneyline.
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