by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Feb 19, 2023
Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: United Center, Chicago, IL
Where to watch: HULU, ESPN+, SNO, TVAS
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Maple Leafs -295, Blackhawks +245
FanDuel: Maple Leafs -275, Blackhawks +220
BetMGM: Maple Leafs -250, Blackhawks +200
Caesars: Maple Leafs -270, Blackhawks +215
Season record
Maple Leafs: 34-14-8
Blackhawks: 17-32-5
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!
Maple Leafs - Blackhawks preview, prediction and analysis
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, February 19 in Chicago, Illinois.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, February 18 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with a score of 5-1. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently rank 2nd in the Atlantic Division.
Ryan O'Reilly had an assist in his Toronto Maple Leafs debut. O'Reilly, who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues along with center Noel Acciari in a three-team trade that also included the Minnesota Wild on Friday, had one shot and won 12 of 14 face-offs in 16:12. Acciari also played his first game for the Maple Leafs and had five shots in 14:22. Both players arrived in Toronto on Saturday afternoon after flying in from St. Louis.
"It's kind of like going into cold water; it's better just to kind of jump headfirst than tip-toe into it," O'Reilly said. "This was a little extreme in the sense of coming in here and taking off (to Chicago to play the Blackhawks on Sunday) right now, it was a little crazy, but I think it was the way to do it. I think the longer we waited, the more thinking creeps in and such, it's better just to get here and start playing and let the hockey do it. It's been great so far."
Michael Bunting scored twice, Pierre Engvall had a goal and an assist, and Joseph Woll made 29 saves in his first win of the season for the Maple Leafs (34-14-8), who are 3-1-0 in their past four games. Auston Matthews and Rasmus Sandin each had two assists.
It was also Woll's first NHL win at home.
"Pretty awesome, especially against Montreal on a Saturday night, it was pretty special," Woll said. "I actually didn't know about [the trade] until this morning when I was looking at our lineup chart and was like, 'What happened to our lines?!' … I don't have social media, so I live in the dark with that stuff, I literally had no idea."
Josh Anderson gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 42 seconds into the second period after deflecting Mike Matheson's shot from the blue line. Bunting tied it 1-1 at 5:32 when he one-timed a pass from Matthews at the top of the goal crease while on the power play.
Engvall put Toronto ahead 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period when he skated out of the corner and shot from just inside the right face-off dot. Bunting made it 3-1 at 18:20 with his second goal, one-timing a pass from Calle Jarnkrok at the right dot. O'Reilly also assisted on the goal for his first point with the Maple Leafs.
William Nylander extended it to 4-1 at 3:47 of the third period on a shot from the bottom of the left circle after taking a cross-slot pass from Matthews, who took the puck off the end boards, fought off Johnathan Kovacevic and worked his way in front getting past Christian Dvorak along the goal line.
"That showed his strength," Bunting said of Matthews. "He's hard to get the puck off of, and he showed it there. He had two guys on him, and then he made a really nice play across the crease to 'Willy' and he just tapped it right in. Matthews is a shooter, but also he can dish and make those kind of plays as well."
David Kampf ended a 27-game goal drought when he put in a rebound at 14:53 at the top of the goal crease for the 5-1 final.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said he was pleased with his initial impressions of O'Reilly and Acciari.
"They came as advertised in terms of their personality, character, the way they fit in, two veteran players, very experienced and accomplished guys who fit in right away even though they're the new guys here," Keefe said. "They fit in really well and that was great to see for sure. That's going to really help us."
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won six of their last 10 games.
The Chicago Blackhawks won against the Ottawa Senators last Friday, February 17 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa with a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Chicago Blackhawks currently rank 8th in the Central Division.
Patrick Kane scored twice, Max Domi and Jake McCabe each had two assists and Petr Mrazek made 28 saves for the Blackhawks (17-32-5), who had lost three in a row.
"I always just enjoy going into that room after the game and watching them have some fun when they win," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "The players deserve it. I thought they played a really good start of the game and then finish of the game. I think we can clean up that second period, but the way they persevered to come back from two goals down on the road after a long road trip, that shows a lot of guts from our team."
Kane gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead 44 seconds into the first period after taking a cross-slot pass from Domi, waiting out a sliding Sogaard and scoring with a far side wrist shot.
"You get that guy the puck in a prime scoring position, there's a good chance it's going in," Athanasiou said of Kane. "He had a couple good chances tonight and both of them went in. Obviously when your best player's on fire like that in the game, it's a good feeling."
After Ottawa surpassed Chicago with a 3-1 lead, Sam Lafferty cut it to 3-2 at 10:49 of the third period, scoring glove side on Mads Sogaard on a short-handed breakaway before Kane tied it 3-3 at 16:55, shooting on a 2-on-1 rush and beating Sogaard blocker side with a wrist shot.
"I just thought we never really gave up," Kane said. "Even down 3-1, we had a good attitude on the bench. The first period was good, second period was not, and then the third, obviously being down 3-1 you don't have much life. But you get a short-handed breakaway and then all of a sudden it's 3-2 out of nowhere, and you feel like you have a chance."
Andreas Athanasiou scored at 2:52 of overtime, and the Chicago Blackhawks rallied with three straight goals for a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.
Athanasiou tapped in a cross-crease pass from Tyler Johnson on a 2-on-1 rush for the game-winner.
"I think we just stuck with it, stuck with it together," Athanasiou said. "We kind of just chipped away and didn't try to make any crazy plays. We just kind of put our nose down, didn't say much and just worked and found a way."
The Chicago Blackhawks have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Again, another instance where a team is coming in on a back to back with no rest and a different country. Toronto, however, is still on a high after getting O'Reilly. Maple Leafs 4, Blackhawks 1
The Toronto Maple Leafs won against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, February 18 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with a score of 5-1. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently rank 2nd in the Atlantic Division.
Ryan O'Reilly had an assist in his Toronto Maple Leafs debut. O'Reilly, who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues along with center Noel Acciari in a three-team trade that also included the Minnesota Wild on Friday, had one shot and won 12 of 14 face-offs in 16:12. Acciari also played his first game for the Maple Leafs and had five shots in 14:22. Both players arrived in Toronto on Saturday afternoon after flying in from St. Louis.
"It's kind of like going into cold water; it's better just to kind of jump headfirst than tip-toe into it," O'Reilly said. "This was a little extreme in the sense of coming in here and taking off (to Chicago to play the Blackhawks on Sunday) right now, it was a little crazy, but I think it was the way to do it. I think the longer we waited, the more thinking creeps in and such, it's better just to get here and start playing and let the hockey do it. It's been great so far."
Michael Bunting scored twice, Pierre Engvall had a goal and an assist, and Joseph Woll made 29 saves in his first win of the season for the Maple Leafs (34-14-8), who are 3-1-0 in their past four games. Auston Matthews and Rasmus Sandin each had two assists.
It was also Woll's first NHL win at home.
"Pretty awesome, especially against Montreal on a Saturday night, it was pretty special," Woll said. "I actually didn't know about [the trade] until this morning when I was looking at our lineup chart and was like, 'What happened to our lines?!' … I don't have social media, so I live in the dark with that stuff, I literally had no idea."
Josh Anderson gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 42 seconds into the second period after deflecting Mike Matheson's shot from the blue line. Bunting tied it 1-1 at 5:32 when he one-timed a pass from Matthews at the top of the goal crease while on the power play.
Engvall put Toronto ahead 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period when he skated out of the corner and shot from just inside the right face-off dot. Bunting made it 3-1 at 18:20 with his second goal, one-timing a pass from Calle Jarnkrok at the right dot. O'Reilly also assisted on the goal for his first point with the Maple Leafs.
William Nylander extended it to 4-1 at 3:47 of the third period on a shot from the bottom of the left circle after taking a cross-slot pass from Matthews, who took the puck off the end boards, fought off Johnathan Kovacevic and worked his way in front getting past Christian Dvorak along the goal line.
"That showed his strength," Bunting said of Matthews. "He's hard to get the puck off of, and he showed it there. He had two guys on him, and then he made a really nice play across the crease to 'Willy' and he just tapped it right in. Matthews is a shooter, but also he can dish and make those kind of plays as well."
David Kampf ended a 27-game goal drought when he put in a rebound at 14:53 at the top of the goal crease for the 5-1 final.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said he was pleased with his initial impressions of O'Reilly and Acciari.
"They came as advertised in terms of their personality, character, the way they fit in, two veteran players, very experienced and accomplished guys who fit in right away even though they're the new guys here," Keefe said. "They fit in really well and that was great to see for sure. That's going to really help us."
The Toronto Maple Leafs have won six of their last 10 games.
The Chicago Blackhawks won against the Ottawa Senators last Friday, February 17 at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa with a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Chicago Blackhawks currently rank 8th in the Central Division.
Patrick Kane scored twice, Max Domi and Jake McCabe each had two assists and Petr Mrazek made 28 saves for the Blackhawks (17-32-5), who had lost three in a row.
"I always just enjoy going into that room after the game and watching them have some fun when they win," Chicago coach Luke Richardson said. "The players deserve it. I thought they played a really good start of the game and then finish of the game. I think we can clean up that second period, but the way they persevered to come back from two goals down on the road after a long road trip, that shows a lot of guts from our team."
Kane gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead 44 seconds into the first period after taking a cross-slot pass from Domi, waiting out a sliding Sogaard and scoring with a far side wrist shot.
"You get that guy the puck in a prime scoring position, there's a good chance it's going in," Athanasiou said of Kane. "He had a couple good chances tonight and both of them went in. Obviously when your best player's on fire like that in the game, it's a good feeling."
After Ottawa surpassed Chicago with a 3-1 lead, Sam Lafferty cut it to 3-2 at 10:49 of the third period, scoring glove side on Mads Sogaard on a short-handed breakaway before Kane tied it 3-3 at 16:55, shooting on a 2-on-1 rush and beating Sogaard blocker side with a wrist shot.
"I just thought we never really gave up," Kane said. "Even down 3-1, we had a good attitude on the bench. The first period was good, second period was not, and then the third, obviously being down 3-1 you don't have much life. But you get a short-handed breakaway and then all of a sudden it's 3-2 out of nowhere, and you feel like you have a chance."
Andreas Athanasiou scored at 2:52 of overtime, and the Chicago Blackhawks rallied with three straight goals for a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.
Athanasiou tapped in a cross-crease pass from Tyler Johnson on a 2-on-1 rush for the game-winner.
"I think we just stuck with it, stuck with it together," Athanasiou said. "We kind of just chipped away and didn't try to make any crazy plays. We just kind of put our nose down, didn't say much and just worked and found a way."
The Chicago Blackhawks have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Again, another instance where a team is coming in on a back to back with no rest and a different country. Toronto, however, is still on a high after getting O'Reilly. Maple Leafs 4, Blackhawks 1
Betting trends
Over is 6-1 in the last seven meetings.
Maple Leafs are 3-8 in the last 11 meetings in Chicago.
Blackhawks are 5-48 in their last 53 against a team with a winning percentage above .600.
Projected lines
Maple Leafs:
Alexander Kerfoot -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Pierre Engvall -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese -- David Kampf -- Noel Acciari
Morgan Rielly -- TJ Brodie
Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren
Rasmus Sandin -- Justin Holl
Erik Kallgren
Alexander Kerfoot -- John Tavares -- Mitchell Marner
Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- William Nylander
Pierre Engvall -- Ryan O'Reilly -- Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese -- David Kampf -- Noel Acciari
Morgan Rielly -- TJ Brodie
Mark Giordano -- Timothy Liljegren
Rasmus Sandin -- Justin Holl
Erik Kallgren
Blackhawks:
Philipp Kurashev -- Max Domi -- Patrick Kane
Tyler Johnson -- Cole Guttman -- Taylor Raddysh
Jason Dickinson -- Sam Lafferty -- Andreas Athanasiou
Boris Katchouk -- Reese Johnson -- Colin Blackwell
Jake McCabe -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- Connor Murphy
Ian Mitchell -- Caleb Jones
Petr Mrazek
Philipp Kurashev -- Max Domi -- Patrick Kane
Tyler Johnson -- Cole Guttman -- Taylor Raddysh
Jason Dickinson -- Sam Lafferty -- Andreas Athanasiou
Boris Katchouk -- Reese Johnson -- Colin Blackwell
Jake McCabe -- Seth Jones
Jack Johnson -- Connor Murphy
Ian Mitchell -- Caleb Jones
Petr Mrazek
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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.
