Leafs–Sharks

It's time to head across the pond again to test ourselves. It's been a tough season so far with a lot of mixed results. That's what makes the NHL so interesting. Anyone can beat anyone.

We now head to Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, where the Toronto Maple Leafs play their home games. As usual, there are high expectations for this Toronto team, and as usual, they have disappointed. But we think we may be seeing them waking up from their slumber now. They have and still are plagued by injuries to players. But it seems they have figured it out anyway. They also face a team they should beat this time. The San Jose Sharks are as usual tipped far down the table before the season. In that respect, they have not disappointed. Because they have played some good games at times. In fact, there is only a single point separating the teams so far, although the Sharks have played two more games, which is somewhat surprising. Let's take a look at why we think we know the answer to this one.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Has great potential.

Toronto clearly has expectations of being a playoff team. They haven't had playoff pace so far. But we think we're seeing clear signs that they're starting to take shape.

First of all, it must be mentioned that this team is doing well at home, and can compare itself with any top team there this year. It is clearly the weak away form that has been decisive for the weak position so far. 22 of 32 points have come at home, a table the Avalanche tops with 24 points. So that is not at all where the problem lies.

Otherwise, there is no doubt that they have struggled with injuries to key players, and it has taken time to get around this. This is perhaps where we see the improvement now. They have started to figure out their ranks, and even though the team is still struggling with injuries, they have been steadily picking up points lately. Four of the last five have ended in a win, and the last one ended in an overtime loss, which means they have picked up points in all of them. These are trends you like to look for in the NHL. It is often the case that teams enter good periods. We think the Leafs have done that now.

As for the quality of the team, there is no shortage of quality players if they are missing any. Players like Matthews, Knies, Tavares and Nylander are all superstars in this league. Matthews has struggled a bit with injuries. But seems to be finding his form. We all know what he is capable of.

San Jose Sharks – The young team is making strides.

As we mentioned at the beginning, the San Jose Sharks have had some good starts so far. But they have never quite gotten into the rhythm that ensures they win more games over a period of time. Maybe that's what you get with a young team? The peaks are there, but it simply fluctuates too much.

If we start with statistics, we also quickly see that the team struggles the most on away ice. They only have 10 points out of a total of 31 points away. The security the audience gives these young guys at home is a completely different game on away ice. They are actually with today's opponents, the teams that are currently struggling the most on foreign territory. It could easily happen here against a good home team. They have only won one of the last four games. It was true that it was away against the Hurricanes, which was a strong win, and at the same time shows some of the potential in this young Sharks team.

Of the players to watch out for, it is clearly the team's point king Macklin Celebrini who has stolen the show. At 19 years old, he has followed up the fantastic season from last year. When he finished with 63 points in 70 games. This season he has an incredible 43 points in 31 games. He is actually in 3rd place of all players in the league in the point statistics. Only MacKinnon and McDavid are ahead of the youngster. But otherwise, unfortunately, there are a little too few others who have signed up. But watch out for this boy.

Conclusion – Home ground and better team.

If we had gotten these odds early in the season, we would have played them 10 out of 10 times. Because there is no doubt that we are thinking of a home win for the Leafs in this one. Home form and away form speak for that. In addition, there is actually a quality difference between the teams here as well.

We will therefore have to try the following games:

Hockey at 01:00: Toronto Maple Leafs - San Jose Sharks: Toronto Maple Leafs win (1.80)