The National Hockey League is back! Yes, it was a scary few days off, but with Christmas now behind us, it’s time to get back to the rinks and see the second big stretch of the season unfold. Tonight, we’ll kick things off with the Battle of Ontario between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, which now has a little bit of extra juice to it that it didn’t have in its previous matchup a few weeks ago.
Bet on Maple Leafs vs. Senators
TOR -165
OTT +140
The Maple Leafs are pretty solid home favourites in this one, coming in at -165 on the moneyline. This number has closed in slightly since last night.
Maple Leafs vs. Senators odds
| Maple Leafs Moneyline Odds | -165 |
| Senators Moneyline Odds | +140 |
| Puckline odds | Maple Leafs -1.5 (+135), Senators +1.5 (-160) |
| Total | 7 goals (over -115, under -105) |
| Time/Date | Dec. 27, 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | Broadcast: Sportsnet (National), TVA Sports (French) Stream: Sportsnet+ (How to watch the NHL in Canada?) |
All odds courtesy of 
About the Senators (12-17-0 SU, 14-15 ATS, 16-10-3 o/u)
The Senators needed a win on Saturday to make things feel right heading into the Christmas break, having lost six in a row amid a tailspin that necessitated a coaching change.
Thankfully for the Sens, while they had a late scare, Jacques Martin finally picked up his first win in his second stint as the franchise’s coach, in his first home game behind the bench since 2004. Ottawa had a 3-1 lead early in the second period and a 4-2 lead heading into the third, only to see Drew O’Connor and Kris Letang send things to overtime for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who also needed points.
Ottawa kept them to just one while taking two of their own, thanks to Tim Stutzle’s seventh goal of the season, beating Alex Nedjekovic a little over a minute into overtime to create some much-needed holiday cheer.
The Sens recognize that they have a lot of work to do here still. After all, they’re just 2-7 since the last time these two teams dropped the puck against each other. But maybe that win and the break does them some good. Certainly, it can’t go much worse than Martin’s last game coaching in the Battle of Ontario.
About the Maple Leafs (17-8-6 SU, 9-22 ATS, 18-12 o/u)
After a brutal loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Thursday, there was a good chance that the Maple Leafs would go into Christmas carrying a sour note. Thankfully for them, they had one last shot to remedy things two days later, and they finished their pre-break strong with an imposing win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Call it what you want – some might call it unfinished business after their close-but-not-quite comeback effort against CBJ a week prior – but a game that featured a ton of Core 4 production and stingy defence was just what the doctor ordered to calm a fanbase’s fears and frustrations. Auston Matthews bagged two more goals to enter the break with 28 goals in his first 30 games, and William Nylander’s three points brought him to 45 in 31.
Martin Jones had another strong effort, stopping 27 of 28 shots and creating a little bit more room for cautious optimism around the third-string netminder, who has been thrust into an unenviable situation with Joseph Woll’s injury and Ilya Samsonov’s struggles.
Last Matchup
These two teams faced off just a few weeks ago, with Toronto taking home a 4-3 win against the Senators in Ottawa. The Sens struck first with Josh Norris’ sixth goal of the season scored late in the first period, but Toronto pulled ahead with a pair in the second, added insurance to kick off the third, and thwarted a couple of late pushes by Ottawa to stay ahead.
Projected Lineups
| Toronto Maple Leafs | Ottawa Senators |
|---|---|
| Forwards Matthew Knies – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner Tyler Bertuzzi – John Tavares – William Nylander Nicholas Robertson – Max Domi – Calle Jarnkrok Bobby McMann – David Kampf – Noah Gregor Defence Morgan Rielly – TJ Brodie Jake McCabe – Timothy Liljegren Simon Benoit – William Lagesson Starting In Goal Martin Jones 3-1-0, 3.27 GAA, 0.907 SV% | Forwards Brady Tkachuk – Josh Norris – Claude Giroux Vladimir Tarasenko – Tim Stutzle – Drake Batherson Dominik Kubalik – Ridly Gregig – Angus Crookshank Jiri Smjkal – Mark Kastelic – Parker Kelly Defence Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub Jakob Chychrun – Travis Hamonic Erik Brannstrom – Jacob-Bernard-Docker Starting In Goal Anton Forsberg 6-6-0, 3.29, 0.877 SV% |
Both teams are projecting to use the same lineups they left off with before the break, including in goal. There was a little bit of hype around the Toronto goaltending spot after Dennis Hildeby was left out of AHL action yesterday, though the coaching staff since confirmed it was to save him for today’s Marlies game, not for a call-up.
Mitch Marner over 1.5 points
+175
Key Injuries
Toronto’s injuries are the same as they were before the break. For those who aren’t in the loop, Mark Giordano has a broken finger, Joseph Woll has a high ankle sprain, and we won’t be seeing Matt Murray or John Klingberg again this year.
Ottawa has Thomas Chabot on LTIR with a lower-body injury dating back to Dec. 7, Rourke Chartier is on IR with an upper-body injury as of the 16th, and Mathieu Joseph is out with a lower-body injury, as he has been since the 16th.
Betting Trends
- The Maple Leafs are 7-3 in their last 10 games against the Senators, though the results on the puckline have been the exact opposite, with Ottawa going 7-3 in that regard. Ten equal moneyline bets on the Leafs would have you up about 3.36 units – ten equal puckline bets would have you down about 4.27.
- The Leafs are 5-5 in their last 10 games both straight-up and on the puckline, and have hit the goals over in eight of their last 10.
- The Senators are 3-7 in their last 10 games, are 4-6 on the puckline, and have hit the goals over in seven of their last 10.
Player Prop Trends
- Drake Batherson is Ottawa’s most productive scorer in the last 10 games, with four goals and eight assists. Josh Norris (7G 3A) and Claude Giroux (3G 7A) are also producing at point-per-game clips, with Norris leading the team in goals during that stretch.
- Brady Tkachuk has been a shot volume machine, putting up a blistering 52 shots in his last 10 games. Over his last five, he’s put up 27, while notching two goals and three assists.
- Auston Matthews watch continues in Toronto, as he’s scoring at an unfathomable rate. In his last 10 games, he’s put up 14 goals and four assists, along with 46 shots on goal. William Nylander has also been molten hot, with four goals and 13 assists in that stretch.
Wagers To Consider
- Wednesday’s game is a Next Gen game, which means it’s geared towards a younger audience, with all the game presentation to match. It’s a tradition the team has had since 2017. This shouldn’t mean anything to the betting lines, but Mitch Marner finds a way to dominate these games historically, almost always putting on a show and getting the points to match. It’s worth keeping an eye on his goal (anytime +170), shot (-110 over 2.5), and point (+175 over 1.5) props as such.
- Brady Tkachuk’s five shots on goal per game clip goes back 20 games, so he’s pretty tempting at +120 over 4.5 shots. With that said, he’s taken “just” seven over the two games he’s faced Toronto, so it’s not a sure thing that he elevates from that tonight.
- I think at this point we’re just going to have to mention Auston Matthews’ anytime goals line every game until he cools down. Tonight, that’s -135, unsurprisingly the shortest for anyone on either etam.
