Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey takes a look at the games that are scheduled then offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups. Today we are looking at the game between the Winnipeg Jets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs. Be sure to check out more NHL Predictions as the 2024-25 season continues.
NHL Predictions
Winnipeg Jets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Time: 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
TV: TSN3; TSN4; ESPN+
In a Monday Matinee before the holiday break, the NHL gifts us with an all-Canadian matchup as the Winnipeg Jets (24-10-1) face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs (21-11-2). This is the second, and final meeting between these two teams. The Maple Leafs won a high-scoring affair 6-4 in Winnipeg back in October. Which team will head into the break with a little extra holiday cheer after securing the victory today?
Winnipeg Keeps Winning
The Winnipeg Jets continue to be one of the best teams in the NHL. They are 6-3-1 in their last ten games and are coming off a 5-0 shutout victory over their rival Minnesota Wild on Saturday. In that game, the Jets league leading power play scored for the fourth straight game with the recently returned Nikolaj Ehlers scoring. Neal Pionk would later add another power play goal. Winnipeg will look to continue their power play success today.
You aren’t one of the best teams in the league without good goaltending, and Connor Hellebuyck has been just that and more in the Jets crease. He recorded his league-leading fourth shutout of the season against the Wild. He also leads the NHL in goals against average, save percentage, and wins. It could be argued his worst performance this season was against the Leafs allowing five goals on 35 shots in the loss. He has historically struggled against Toronto going 7-10-3 with a 3.16 GAA and .904 SV%.
Maple Leafs Missing Matthews Again
Auston Matthews returned for 11 games before re-aggravating his upper-body injury against the Buffalo Sabres. He missed the Leafs last game against the New York Islanders on Saturday night. In that game, the Maple Leafs didn’t look themselves losing 6-3 to a struggling team. Toronto is still 7-3-0 on the season without him but, they really need to be careful and make sure this injury is behind their superstar. It would be irresponsible for the Leafs to play him today so the lineup that played last game will need a bounce-back performance.
In the absence of their captain, Craig Berube put his lines into a blender hoping to find a spark against the Islanders. This broke up one of the Leafs most effective lines over the past week or so. The Max Domi, Bobby McMann, Nick Robertson line seemed to have some chemistry with each player finding the scoresheet. However, they didn’t play as much together Saturday. It will be interesting to see how Berube uses his lineup against the Jets with a long layoff between games.
Prediction
Afternoon games always present an interesting challenge. Being the last game before the holiday break for both teams also adds a layer of distractions. With Matthews missing, the Jets are a much deeper team than the Leafs up front. Toronto will have to decide how to configure their lineup to match the Jets, top players. The Maple Leafs will also need to keep up their success against Hellebuyck and hope Joseph Woll plays better to keep this game close. With two evenly matched clubs special teams could be the difference. If the Leafs start parading to the box Winnipeg could hurt them on the power play. Expect a fun, tight game where one team’s star player makes the play to decide it.
Prediction: Jets win 3-2
Prop Bets of The Night
Today is Toronto’s “Next Gen Game”. They have had 11 games of this kind before, and in those games, Mitch Marner has scored nine goals. He is +200 to score in the “Next Gen Game” today. For the Jets, Mark Scheifele has scored 16 goals in 29 games against Toronto. He also scored in their first meeting of the season. He is +230 as an anytime goal scorer. Winnipeg is +105 on the moneyline.
Main Photo Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images
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The post NHL Predictions: Dec.23 Winnipeg Jets vs. Toronto Maple Leafs appeared first on Last Word On Hockey.