NHL Betting: Carolina at Toronto

Written by Steve Hasting

Tuesday, 09 October 2007

Vesa Toskala is expected to be in goal for Toronto on Tuesday night as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Toskala is battling Andrew Raycroft for the starting goalie job but it is expected that he will win the job. "Our goal here is to have one of our two goalies hot all the time," Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "We want to keep our hockey team in a position to do that. I won't leave anybody out too, too long, but at the same time when a guy's playing well - a guy's playing well." SBG Global reports that early betting has the public taking the favored Maple Leafs at Home.

NHL Betting Preview
Carolina at Toronto
Tuesday, 7:00 pm Eastern – Versus TV

SBG Global Opening Line: Maple Leafs -130, Total 6.5 Under (-120)

Toskala was picked up from San Jose in June along with forward Mike Bell for three draft picks. "He's a great goaltender," Leafs forward Jason Blake said, "There's no question about it." The Leafs will be looking for offense from Mats Sundin on Tuesday. Sundin has a point in all three games this season for Toronto, totaling a goal and five assists. Sundin has 30 goals and 36 assists in 61 games against the Hurricanes all-time.

The Hurricanes opened up a six game road trip with a 2-0 loss at Washington over the weekend. The Hurricanes have allowed five power-play goals in 18 chances. The Hurricanes will look to forward Eric Staal on Tuesday as he has a goal in each of his last three visits to Toronto. Cam Ward is 2-3-1 with a 3.79 GAA in six starts against the Maple Leafs in his career.

SBG Global Current Line: Maple Leafs -135, Total 6 Under (-125)

Here is a look at the betting statistics for Tuesday’s game. The Maple Leafs took three of four meetings last season and won the last two by a combined score of 10-2. The Maple Leafs are 10-1 in their last 11 home games. The Maple Leafs are 49-23-6 in their last 78 vs. the Southeast Division. The Maple Leafs are 1-5 in their last 6 games following a win. The Hurricanes are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings between the two teams.

The Over is 4-0-1 in the Hurricanes last 5 vs. a team with a losing record. The Under is 5-1 in the Hurricanes last 6 overall. The Under is 23-9-1 in the Hurricanes last 33 road games. The Under is 40-18-3 in the Hurricanes last 61 Tuesday games. The Under is 35-17-4 in the Hurricanes last 56 vs. the Eastern Conference. The Under is 9-1 in the Maple Leafs last 10 vs. the Southeast. The Over is 5-1 in the Maple Leafs last 6 home games. The Under is 10-2 in the Maple Leafs last 12 Tuesday games. The Over is 4-1 in the Maple Leafs last 5 games following a win. The Over is 4-1 in the Maple Leafs last 5 overall. The Under is 7-3-1 in the last 11 meetings in Toronto.