NHL betting favors the New Jersey Devils on Friday as they host the Toronto Maple Leafs. On paper it would seem that the Devils should win this hockey betting contest easily but Toronto has held their own against New Jersey as the teams have split their last ten meetings.
NHL betting has this as the first meeting between the teams this season. Last April the Maple Leafs won 4-1 at New Jersey in NHL betting. In fact, the Maple Leafs have won the last two games at New Jersey and three of the last five. Another hockey betting trend to consider in this matchup is the total. The last three times the Devils and Maple Leafs have played the games have gone under the NHL betting total. Going back farther, seven of the last nine have gone under the hockey betting total.
New Jersey has been one of the best teams to take in NHL betting this season. It hasn’t really mattered whether they are at home or on the road. They are a better value though on the road since they can be a little bit pricey on home ice. The Devils have the best defense in the NHL as they have allowed the fewest goals in the league. They have a Hall of Fame goalie in Martin Brodeur and they can score enough goals to be dangerous. The Devils had a little hiccup on the road a couple of weeks ago but they seem to have things back on track again in NHL betting.
Toronto has not been a good team this season in NHL betting. They are at least somewhat competitive at home but on the road they have not been very good. The Maple Leafs simply can’t stop other teams from scoring as they are last in the league in goals allowed. That is a major problem against good teams like New Jersey. The Maple Leafs offense is nothing special either and that means they are not a team to take very often in hockey betting. When a defenseman (Tomas Kaberle) is leading your team in scoring, you have some serious goal scoring issues. Shots are not the problem as Toronto is first in the league in putting shots on goal. They just don’t have many players that can put the puck in the net. And they can’t keep the puck out of their own net.