Wild vs Maple Leafs: Prediction, Odds, Team News and Goalscorer Picks

Toronto has lost four in a row and five of its last six. Minnesota arrives with the fewest goals against in the NHL, 2.20 a game.

Wild vs Maple Leafs is the second stop on Minnesota’s trip east, after a 2-1 overtime win in Montréal on Tuesday. The visitors are clear favourites, and the line has moved further their way.

How to watch in Canada

Rights are split by region here, so your feed may differ from the national one. See our how to watch the NHL in Canada page.

Wild vs Maple Leafs odds at Canadian sportsbooks

How the line has moved

Goalie matchup

Jesper Wallstedt has started 17 of Minnesota’s 20 games at .925, and he’s stopped better than 95 per cent in three of his last four. Calvin Pickard has the other three. Toronto’s choice is harder. Sergei Bobrovsky has 13 starts at .881 and went on Tuesday. Anthony Stolarz is 5-2-0 at .908.

Team news

Brock Faber is with the Wild on the trip but is expected to sit this one out, so his season debut waits a few more days. Filip Gustavsson is still on injured reserve. Toronto’s list is long. Morgan Rielly missed Tuesday and is day to day, and Colton Sissons is out. Eight Leafs are on injured reserve, Max Domi and Kirill Marchenko among them. Not ideal.

The NHL injury report has the same detail for every other club.

How they compare this season

The records are miles apart but the attacks aren’t. Toronto scores 3.35 a game, a fraction more than Minnesota’s 3.25. Defence is the difference, with the Leafs conceding 3.50 a game, 25th in the league.

Special teams

Toronto’s special teams are the one area it leads. The Leafs’ power play is fifth at 28.1 per cent and the kill is fifth too. Minnesota is eighth on the power play, and Kirill Kaprizov won Tuesday’s game with one.

Players to watch

Kaprizov has a point in each of his last five games. Quinn Hughes has a point in all five. Auston Matthews hasn’t scored since 31 October, though he’s put 16 shots on goal in four games since. William Nylander didn’t register a shot against Colorado.

Recent meetings

Minnesota has won three of the last five meetings, including a 6-3 win at Scotiabank Arena in January. Toronto won the most recent, in March. The all-time series is 18 wins to 17 in the Leafs’ favour.

How the last meeting unfolded

Toronto won 4-2 in Minnesota last March. Morgan Rielly and Bo Groulx scored three times in the first eight minutes of the second period. The Wild got two back early in the third before Matthew Knies, now in Columbus, put it away late.

Where both clubs shoot from

Minnesota had 90 shot attempts that night to Toronto’s 48. It lost anyway.

Results so far

Score prediction

Minnesota keeps games low, and Toronto concedes too easily to stay with a goalie in Wallstedt’s form. The Leafs’ power play should give them something. Wild by two.

Wild vs Maple Leafs prediction

The Wild are 7-1-2 over ten and third in the league on points. Toronto is 4-6-0 over the same stretch. The market makes Minnesota about 60 per cent.

The case against is Toronto’s special teams, top five at both ends, and the fact that the Leafs won the last meeting. A Rielly return would help too.

Our pick: Minnesota to win. Wild 4–2 Maple Leafs. What would change it: if Wallstedt sits and Pickard starts, which would take away the biggest edge Minnesota has.

Our NHL power rankings has all 32 in order, and the rest of Thursday’s card is on the NHL schedule. Skater and goalie markets for this one sit on our NHL player props page.

19+ (18+ in AB, MB and QC). Picks are opinion, not advice, and odds change constantly. Availability varies by province. Please play responsibly. ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600 for Ontario residents; see your province’s helpline for resources elsewhere.