by Chuck Sommers
Friday, Feb 24, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Where to watch: TSN4, BSNX, BSWIX
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Maple Leafs -200, Wild +170
FanDuel: Maple Leafs -220, Wild +176
BetMGM: Maple Leafs -185, Wild +150
Caesars: Maple Leafs -208, Wild +175
Season record
Wild: 32-21-5
Maple Leafs: 35-15-8
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Wild - Maple Leafs preview, prediction and analysis
The Minnesota Wild will be playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, February 24 in Toronto.
The Minnesota Wild won against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, February 23 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio with a score of 2-0. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves to help the Minnesota Wild to their fourth straight win, 2-0 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday. Fleury's second shutout of the season was the 73rd of his career, which is 12th all-time in the NHL.
The Wild played without defensemen Jonas Brodin (upper-body injury) and Jon Merrill (illness).
"Great team effort," Fleury said. "We had some guys out on the (defense) but we have some depth back there. The guys blocked a lot of shots and let me see the puck."
Kirill Kaprizov and Brandon Duhaime scored in the first period for the Wild (32-21-5), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games.
"That's kind of what we stressed, a big start, and we went out and played like it in the first period," Duhaime said.
Duhaime made it 1-0 at 3:01 of the first period, scoring at the crease on his own rebound after a centering pass by Frederick Gaudreau.
The goal came on the Wild's sixth shot. They had two the rest of the period but still made it 2-0 at 8:48 when Kaprizov scored with a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 8:48. Five of his 34 goals have come in his past six games.
"It's night and day to get up obviously," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "If you get a lead, you can really solidify what you're doing. We can really bear down and wait for our opportunities rather than push."
Fleury made 12 saves in the second period.
Fleury's best sequence came at 14:35 of the third period when he gloved a Johnny Gaudreau shot from between the circles after a turnover, then saved Boone Jenner's rebound during a scramble.
"He's a living legend," Korpisalo said of Fleury. "He's still going strong. It's really cool to see him playing the same level he has the last 20 years."
Fleury started for the first time in four games.
"He's a stud," Duhaime said. "Everyone knew he would respond like that. It's pretty standard for him."
The Minnesota Wild have won five of their last 10 games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won against the Buffalo Sabres last Tuesday, February 21 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York with a score of 6-3. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently rank 2nd in the Atlantic Division.
Ryan O'Reilly scored a hat trick for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The three goals were the first for O'Reilly in three games since Toronto acquired the center from the St. Louis Blues with center Noel Acciari on Friday in a three-team trade that included the Minnesota Wild.
"Yeah, definitely feels a little better than other buildings, for sure," said O'Reilly, who played for Buffalo for three seasons before being traded to St. Louis on July 1, 2018, in the deal that sent forward Tage Thompson to the Sabres. "Just to get on the board like that, to contribute tonight, get the first one out of the way … it's a good feeling right now. Throughout the game, obviously it would've been nice to just shut the door and not let them get back into it. But you know, a win's a win."
John Tavares had a goal and three assists, and Mitchell Marner had five assists for the Maple Leafs (35-15-8), who have won four of their past six games. Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves.
"Overall, I thought we did a good job of really not giving up a whole lot through the game," Marner said. "When we did, 'Sammy' made some unreal saves for us as usual."
O'Reilly gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the first period after taking a diagonal pass from Marner in the slot. He made it 2-0 just 37 seconds later when he lifted a backhand over Luukkonen's glove off another pass from Marner at 4:28. Tavares scored on a rebound in front to push it to 3-0 at 7:14, leading to the Sabres calling a timeout.
Michael Bunting made it 4-0 at 12:09 by scoring to the short side from low in the left face-off circle, chasing Luukkonen.
"When you have a period like we did and you grab control of the game on the road like we did, you're not going to get too critical of the rest of the game from there," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That said, while there's a great sample of what it is supposed to look like and what we are capable of, there's still plenty in there in the second half of the game that shows why we need to stay on our habits, our details all the way through regardless of score or opponent."
William Nylander extended it to 5-0 on the power play at 14:36 of the second period with a shot from the left side.
Buffalo scored three goals attempting to catch up to Toronto, but O'Reilly scored into an empty net at 18:50 for the 6-3 final.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won six of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Normally I'd think going to the backup would help with how well he's played. But Toronto at home is another animal with all that confidence. Maple Leafs 4, Wild 2
The Minnesota Wild won against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, February 23 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio with a score of 2-0. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 3rd in the Central Division.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves to help the Minnesota Wild to their fourth straight win, 2-0 against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena on Thursday. Fleury's second shutout of the season was the 73rd of his career, which is 12th all-time in the NHL.
The Wild played without defensemen Jonas Brodin (upper-body injury) and Jon Merrill (illness).
"Great team effort," Fleury said. "We had some guys out on the (defense) but we have some depth back there. The guys blocked a lot of shots and let me see the puck."
Kirill Kaprizov and Brandon Duhaime scored in the first period for the Wild (32-21-5), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven games.
"That's kind of what we stressed, a big start, and we went out and played like it in the first period," Duhaime said.
Duhaime made it 1-0 at 3:01 of the first period, scoring at the crease on his own rebound after a centering pass by Frederick Gaudreau.
The goal came on the Wild's sixth shot. They had two the rest of the period but still made it 2-0 at 8:48 when Kaprizov scored with a wrist shot from the right circle to make it 2-0 at 8:48. Five of his 34 goals have come in his past six games.
"It's night and day to get up obviously," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "If you get a lead, you can really solidify what you're doing. We can really bear down and wait for our opportunities rather than push."
Fleury made 12 saves in the second period.
Fleury's best sequence came at 14:35 of the third period when he gloved a Johnny Gaudreau shot from between the circles after a turnover, then saved Boone Jenner's rebound during a scramble.
"He's a living legend," Korpisalo said of Fleury. "He's still going strong. It's really cool to see him playing the same level he has the last 20 years."
Fleury started for the first time in four games.
"He's a stud," Duhaime said. "Everyone knew he would respond like that. It's pretty standard for him."
The Minnesota Wild have won five of their last 10 games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won against the Buffalo Sabres last Tuesday, February 21 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York with a score of 6-3. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently rank 2nd in the Atlantic Division.
Ryan O'Reilly scored a hat trick for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The three goals were the first for O'Reilly in three games since Toronto acquired the center from the St. Louis Blues with center Noel Acciari on Friday in a three-team trade that included the Minnesota Wild.
"Yeah, definitely feels a little better than other buildings, for sure," said O'Reilly, who played for Buffalo for three seasons before being traded to St. Louis on July 1, 2018, in the deal that sent forward Tage Thompson to the Sabres. "Just to get on the board like that, to contribute tonight, get the first one out of the way … it's a good feeling right now. Throughout the game, obviously it would've been nice to just shut the door and not let them get back into it. But you know, a win's a win."
John Tavares had a goal and three assists, and Mitchell Marner had five assists for the Maple Leafs (35-15-8), who have won four of their past six games. Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves.
"Overall, I thought we did a good job of really not giving up a whole lot through the game," Marner said. "When we did, 'Sammy' made some unreal saves for us as usual."
O'Reilly gave Toronto a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the first period after taking a diagonal pass from Marner in the slot. He made it 2-0 just 37 seconds later when he lifted a backhand over Luukkonen's glove off another pass from Marner at 4:28. Tavares scored on a rebound in front to push it to 3-0 at 7:14, leading to the Sabres calling a timeout.
Michael Bunting made it 4-0 at 12:09 by scoring to the short side from low in the left face-off circle, chasing Luukkonen.
"When you have a period like we did and you grab control of the game on the road like we did, you're not going to get too critical of the rest of the game from there," Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. "That said, while there's a great sample of what it is supposed to look like and what we are capable of, there's still plenty in there in the second half of the game that shows why we need to stay on our habits, our details all the way through regardless of score or opponent."
William Nylander extended it to 5-0 on the power play at 14:36 of the second period with a shot from the left side.
Buffalo scored three goals attempting to catch up to Toronto, but O'Reilly scored into an empty net at 18:50 for the 6-3 final.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won six of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Normally I'd think going to the backup would help with how well he's played. But Toronto at home is another animal with all that confidence. Maple Leafs 4, Wild 2
Betting trends
Wild are 12-10 in non-conference games this season.
Wild are 11-9 revenging a loss this season.
Maple Leafs are 34-21 in non-conference games the last 3 seasons.
Projected lines
Wild:
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Matt Dumba -- Alex Goligoski
Calen Addison -- Dakota Mermis
Filip Gustavsson
Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Matt Boldy
Jordan Greenway -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Brandon Duhaime
Mason Shaw -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Matt Dumba -- Alex Goligoski
Calen Addison -- Dakota Mermis
Filip Gustavsson
Maple Leafs:
Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
John Tavares -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Mitchell Marner
Pierre Engvall -- David Kampf -- Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese -- Noel Acciari -- Alexander Kerfoot
Morgan Rielly -- Justin Holl
Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren
TJ Brodie -- Conor Timmins
Ilya Samsonov
Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
John Tavares -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Mitchell Marner
Pierre Engvall -- David Kampf -- Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese -- Noel Acciari -- Alexander Kerfoot
Morgan Rielly -- Justin Holl
Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren
TJ Brodie -- Conor Timmins
Ilya Samsonov
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
