Maple Leafs Favored at Home in Massive Showdown With Golden Knights

What: Golden Knights vs Maple Leafs
When: Tuesday, February 27th, 7 PM ET
Where: Scotiabank Arena

Tuesday evening brings a must-watch matchup north of the border as the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights visit the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 PM ET between the two powerhouses. Vegas has surprisingly lost three in a row, most recently falling to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday in a shootout. As for Toronto, they beat the high-flying Colorado Avalanche 4-3 over the weekend, their seventh consecutive victory. We'll see if the Leafs can make it eight. Below, find the Golden Knights vs Maple Leafs picks.

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Golden Knights vs Maple Leafs Odds

Team
Golden Knights	+138	+140	+140
Maple Leafs	-155	-165	-160

Amid their hot streak, the Maple Leafs are a clear -155 favorite here for an implied win probability of 60.78%. The Golden Knights return at +138 and have a 42.02% chance of taking this contest on the road. Toronto just beat Vegas 7-3 last week, but the Knights won back-to-back meetings before that.

Don't Sleep on Vegas

Just a few years into their existence, the Golden Knights won a first-ever Stanley Cup last season in epic fashion, taking out the Florida Panthers in the Finals. And by the looks of it, we could see Vegas back in the Cup again. Bruce Cassidy's squad is second in the Pacific Division with a 32-19-7 record, sitting 11 points behind the surging Vancouver Canucks. The Knights are one of the best teams in the Western Conference and have essentially the same roster as 2022-23. The biggest strength for this group is their blue line, which is allowing only 2.81 goals per contest. That ranks ninth in the league.

Offensively, Vegas ranks 15th with 3.14 goals per game, but there are a lot of different guys contributing. Mark Stone leads the way with 53 points, but he's currently sidelined with an upper-body injury. Jonathan Marchessault (30 goals, 18 assists), Jack Eichel (19 goals, 25 assists), and William Karlsson (19 goals, 20 assists) are the key producers for the Golden Knights on a nightly basis. 10 players have notched a minimum of 20 points.

That being said, Vegas is definitely in a bit of a cold spell at the moment, going only 4-5-1 in their last 10 games and as previously mentioned, losing three straight. During that span, the Knights have allowed 16 goals. That's unlike them. Their defense is not playing very well at the moment and it won't get any easier on Tuesday against a strong Maple Leafs team with a plethora of weapons who can hurt you. Vegas is 13-10-2 on the road this season.

Leafs Are Firing on All Cylinders

The All-Star break in Toronto was clearly a much-needed reset for the Leafs, who have only lost twice since then, going 10-2 in the second half. They've beaten some very good teams during the hot streak too, including the Avs, Stars, Blues, and Golden Knights. Toronto is 33-16-8 overall, putting them in third place in the heavily competitive Atlantic Division. The Leafs are just seven points behind first-place Boston with two games in hand.

Toronto is 8-2-0 in their last 10 and as usual, relies heavily on their potent offense. They rank first in the NHL with 3.68 goals per game and first power play percentage as well. William Nylander has a team-best 78 points with 31 goals and 47 assists, but Auston Matthews has stolen the spotlight. He's on pace for 75 goals, having scored 52 and assisted 25 in just 56 contests. Mitch Marner has also surpassed the 70-point mark. Morgan Rielly and John Tavares are important pieces, too. This core five are absolutely vital to the Leafs' success.

It was an unlikely hero on Saturday as Tyler Bertuzzi scored a hat-trick to lead the way. Even better, it was his birthday. He also scored the game-winner with only 2:51 left in the third period to help give Toronto a huge win over a tough opponent. Tuesday marks the beginning of a five-game homestand. The Maple Leafs own an impressive 33-16-8 record at Scotiabank Arena in 2023-24 and haven't lost there since February 5th against the visiting New York Islanders.

Golden Knights vs Maple Leafs Picks

Recent meetings are a mixed bag and while the Leafs are hot, I have a hard time believing the Golden Knights won't respond after getting spanked 7-3 only several days ago by Toronto. I like the Vegas moneyline on Tuesday evening.

Golden Knights moneyline Vs Maple Leafs

-155

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