Auston Matthews is one of the best scorers in the league, and an anytime goal price of +165 is too good to pass up.
NHL
Tonight features a matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes at the Lenovo Center.
Auston Matthews’ anytime goal prop is paying +165 today, and that’s value I simply cannot pass up, which is why it’s my best bet in my Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes predictions.
Find out more in my free NHL picks for April 13.
My Leafs pick: Auston Matthews anytime goal (+165 at Sports Interaction)
My Leafs analysis
It’s the rubber match between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Carolina Hurricanes as both teams earned a 6-3 win over the other earlier this season.
I’m not sure why, but it always seems to be goals galore when these two teams meet, despite both being quite staunch defensively.
Auston Matthews is a common scorer throughout the recent history of this matchup. The Leafs captain scored against Carolina in both meetings earlier this season and has eight goals in his last 10 games. Over his career, he’s scored 11 times against the Canes — five of which have been inside the Lenovo Center.
Matthews has certainly been snakebitten this season with a career-low 30 goals. He’s also mired in a three-game, goalless skid and has tickled the twine just once in his last six games, which could explain the +165 price of his anytime goal today.
However, despite scoring only once in his last six games, Matthews has generated a lot of chances with his line and on the power play. He’s registered 18 shots, culminating in 12 individual high-danger chances over that six-game stretch. He’s bound to have one drop eventually, and +165 is just too good a value to pass up.
Additionally, his shooting percentage is 5% during this stretch, which should see some positive regression to get closer to that 15.8% career average.
As for the Canes, the team is struggling right now, losing four of their last five games while allowing an average of 4.2 goals per contest. Fred Andersen is the expected starter for Carolina, and he’s allowed nine goals combined over his last two starts and has allowed three goals against this old friend AM34 in the four games they’ve squared off.
The Canes have also surrendered three power-play goals over their last two games. They will be tested by Toronto’s dominant man-advantage tonight — a spot where Matthews has been lethal his entire career.
It’ll also be the third game in four nights for Carolina. Fatigue tends to set in during games like these, which could allow Toronto to take advantage.
Auston Matthews anytime goalscorer
Auston Matthews 3+ shots
Bobby McMann 2+ shots
Matthews is averaging 3.93 shots per game this season and has reached this total in 10 of his last 13 outings.
The Leafs will probably have to spread out the ice-time a bit more tonight on the second night of a back-to-back, and Bobby McMann’s third line will be the beneficiaries of that. He’s also averaging 2.3 shots per game this season and has had 2+ shots in four of his five career games against Carolina.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Odds courtesy of Sports Interaction
The Over is 6-4 in the last 10 games played between the two clubs. Find more NHL betting trends for Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes.
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Mike DiStefano joins Covers after a successful five-year stint with TSN. Distefano hosted Leafs Lunch, a Toronto Maple Leafs-centric radio show which featured a daily best bets segment where he found the biggest and best value plays of the night. He was also a weekly staple on TSN’s flagship radio/tv show “OverDrive” as a betting analyst during their NFL picks segment #TeamAl-DogForever.
A graduate of Centennial College’s Sports Journalism program, Mike has also contributed to the Canadian Baseball Network, FanSided, and The Hockey News.
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