Big Al

Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 1/27/2023

by Chuck Sommers

Thursday, Jan 26, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
Where to watch: CBC, RDS, SN

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Maple Leafs -245, Senators +205
FanDuel: Maple Leafs -245, Senators +198
BetMGM: Maple Leafs -250, Senators +200
Caesars: Maple Leafs -250, Senators +205

Season record
Senators: 21-23-3
Maple Leafs: 30-11-8

We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!

Senators - Maple Leafs preview, prediction and analysis


The Ottawa Senators will be playing the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, January 27 in Toronto.

The Ottawa Senators won against the New York Islanders Wednesday, January 25 in Ottawa with a score of 2-1. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division. Anton Forsberg made 21 saves, and the Ottawa Senators handed the New York Islanders their sixth straight loss with a 2-1 win at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday.

"I thought we played well," Forsberg said. "I thought we fought hard all game for this team. We just stayed with it the whole game and I think that's the biggest part. I think that's what we have to do moving forward here to get some more wins."

Forsberg entered the game at 8:05 of the second period after Cam Talbot (14 saves) left with a lower-body injury.

"We'll know more tomorrow, but certainly it looks like he won't be available before the [All-Star] break," Senators coach D.J. Smith said.

Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist, and Jake Sanderson had two assists for Ottawa (21-23-3), which had lost two straight.

"There was a lot of frustration after the Winnipeg game, the way we were playing," Giroux said of the 5-1 loss to the Jets on Saturday. "I think we had a couple good practices and a couple good meetings to get back on the same page, and it was a way better effort tonight."

The Ottawa Senators have won four of their last 10 games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs won against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, January 25 in Toronto with a score of 3-2 in overtime. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently rank 2nd in the Atlantic Division. Mitchell Marner scored 19 seconds into overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied for a 3-2 win against the New York Rangers at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday.

Marner received a pass from Timothy Liljegren at the Toronto blue line before cutting across the top of the crease from the left wing and tucking the puck past an outstretched Igor Shesterkin.

"Timmy kind of took it up the ice, drew people towards him, dropped it back to me and I saw I had a lot of time and space," Marner said. "I tried to come over the blue line and decide what I was going to do, try to slow the play down and see if anything was going to open up, and I saw I had my own little lane and tried to take it."

Liljegren also scored, William Nylander had an assist for his 400th NHL point, and Ilya Samsonov made 27 saves for the Maple Leafs.
"It was a nice game, a great battle with [Shesterkin]," Samsonov said. "It was a little bit bigger game for me than normal against Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin (Islanders) and Connor Hellebuyck
(Winnipeg Jets, 4-1 win Jan. 19) too. Three good goalies. I'm happy we won; [it was a] hard game. Mitch [did] an excellent job in overtime, so [it's] nice."

The Toronto Maple Leafs have won seven of their last 10 games.

Prediction

Don't ever count out the offense of the Senators. They can strike at any time. But the fact the Maple Leafs may have found a formula with four wins in five games, they're on a run right now with a combination of good goaltending and timely scoring. Maple Leafs 4, Senators 3

Betting trends


Senators are 20-13 after scoring two goals or less in 2 straight games the last 3 seasons.

Senators are 3-8 when revenging a road loss this season.

Maple Leafs are 12-6 off a home win this season.

Maple Leafs are 18-11 off a win this season.

Projected lines


Senators:

Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Mathieu Joseph

Alex DeBrincat -- Ridly Greig -- Claude Giroux

Derick Brassard -- Shane Pinto -- Drake Batherson

Parker Kelly -- Dylan Gambrell -- Austin Watson

Thomas Chabot -- Nick Holden

Jake Sanderson -- Travis Hamonic

Erik Brannstrom -- Nikita Zaitsev

Cam Talbot

Maple Leafs:

Michael Bunting - Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner

Calle Jarnkrok -- John Tavares -- William Nylander

Bobby McMann -- David Kampf -- Pierre Engvall

Alexander Kerfoot -- Pontus Holmberg -- Joey Anderson

Morgan Rielly -- Justin Holl

Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren

Rasmus Sandin -- Jordie Benn

Ilya Samsonov

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