New Jersey vs Toronto Pick
NHL betting action sees the New Jersey Devils taking on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday December 4th at Air Canada Centre. Cappers Picks provides free NHL handicapping tips all season long.
After bottoming out a couple of weeks ago with two horrific losses to the Buffalo Sabres and Nashville Predators, the Leafs have been turning the ship around since.
NHL Predictions
Date/Time: Thursday, Dec. 4 2014, 7:30 pm EST
Venue: Air Canada Centre, Toronto ON
Broadcast: RSN (Sportsnet in Canada)
New Jersey, Toronto -180
Over/Under: 5.5
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Maybe the good vibes continue when the Garden Staters travel to southern Ontario.
Toronto has played more disciplined hockey for the most part under embattled head coach Randy Carlyle, and it’s resulted in a 4-1 record since the firestorm in the ravenous Toronto hockey media – with the only loss coming in overtime to Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The structure has allowed Toronto’s goal-scoring prowess to shine through, most notably with its secondary scoring – talisman Phil Kessel hasn’t been lighting the lamp much, but role players like Leo Komarov, Mike Santorelli and David Clarkson have been crucial.
The Leafs always catch flak for having a poor group of centermen, but the ragtag bunch that includes Tyler Bozak, Peter Holland and Santorelli have been surprisingly productive.
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With the rare rumblings of good news coming from the Toronto hockey world, the Devils will be challenged to score some goals. The team’s leading scorer is the ageless Jaromir Jagr (how old is he now? 42? 43? 60?) who is dinged up after a vicious hit from Pittsburgh’s Robert Bortuzzo on Tuesday.
When forwards like Mike Cammalleri and Adam Henrique aren’t scoring, New Jersey is in trouble. The team ranks in the bottom third of the league in goals scored, goals against and penalty-kill percentage.
Accordingly, the Devils have dropped five straight games.
New Jersey is currently fifth in the Metro division, which speaks more to how top-heavy that division is; Pittsburgh and the New York Islanders have been great, everyone else pedestrian. The Devils’ 9-12-4 mark doesn’t inspire confidence.
This is difficult to gauge because there are countless times where Toronto has seemed to have turned a corner, only to sputter at the last gasp. This is typically one of those ‘gimme’ games that the Leafs let slip through their fingers.
Yet, pundits said that about the team’s last game versus Dallas, and the Leafs were victorious, 5-3. New Jersey goaltender Corey Schneider is overworked and the visitors’ goal-scoring is sparse, especially with Jagr out of the lineup.
Toronto should be able to keep the positivity flowing in this home contest, further dispelling the notion that it can’t play effectively in front of its home fans.
4* Free Play: Toronto 4, New Jersey 2
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