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The Toronto Maple Leafs go on the road to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at the Nationwide Arena. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Columbus Blue Jackets game preview
The Toronto Maple Leafs are 17-9-6 and coming off a 4-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night at home. Toronto is now 1-3 in its last four games, with its lone win being that stretch of 4-1 road win over Columbus on Dec. 23.
The Maple Leafs are led by William Nylander, 46 points, Auston Matthews, 42, Mitch Marner, 36, and John Tavares, 30.
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Columbus, meanwhile, is 11-18-7, which is good for 15th in the Eastern Conference. They lost 4-3 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets are on a three-game losing streak.
The Blue Jackets are led by Zach Werenski, 25 points, Johnny Gaudreau, 22, Adam Fantilli, 21, Kirill Marchenko, 21, and Ivan Provorov, 19.
Maple Leafs vs Blue Jackets: Head-to-head & key numbers
- Toronto is 19-12-1-6 all-time against Columbus.
- The Maple Leafs are 8-3-4 on the road.
- The Blue Jackets allow 3.64 goals per game.
- Toronto is averaging 3.53 goals per game, which ranks fourth.
- Columbus is averaging 3.08 goals per game.
- The Maple Leafs allow 3.38 goals per game, which ranks 23rd.
- The Blue Jackets are 7-10-3 at home.
Maple Leafs vs Blue Jackets: Odds & prediction
The Toronto Maple Leafs are -198 favorites, while the Columbus Blue Jackets are +164 underdogs, with the over/under set at seven goals.
Toronto is set to start Ilya Samsonov, who has struggled tremendously this season. The Russian has a 3.79 goals against average and a .879 save percentage, which is concerning. Columbus, however, has also struggled to keep the puck out of their net, so expect this one to be a high-scoring game.
The Maple Leafs should be able to get out to an early lead as they did against Ottawa on Wednesday. However, they will be able to keep the lead to get the win this time.
Prediction: Toronto 4, Columbus 2.
Maple Leafs vs Blue Jackets: Betting tips
Tip 1: Toronto to win in regulation -145.
Tip 2: Under seven goals -122.
Tip 3: Cole Sillinger over 1.5 shots on goal -150.
Tip 4: Tyler Bertuzzi over 2.5 shots on goal +135.
