Maple Leafs Favored to Beat Kraken on Thursday at Home

Quinn Allen
By , Updated on: Nov 29, 2023 07:00 PM
Maple Leafs Favored to Beat Kraken on Thursday at Home
  • What: Seattle Kraken vs Toronto Maple Leafs
  • When: Thursday, November 30th
  • Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back in action on Thursday, November 30th when welcome the Western Conference's Seattle Kraken to Scotiabank Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 PM EST. Toronto just ended a short two-game skid on Tuesday when they beat the Florida Panthers in a shootout thanks to Noah Gregor, a fourth-liner. Seattle meanwhile will be looking to end a two-game losing streak of their own here, falling to the Canucks and Blackhawks over the last six days. Below, find the Kraken vs Maple Leafs picks.

Before we get into the odds and preview, make sure to check out our online sportsbook reviews, and the top NHL betting sites.

Kraken vs Maple Leafs Odds

TeamBetOnlineBovadaBetUS
Seattle Kraken+161+153+160
Toronto Maple Leafs-181-177-180

The Maple Leafs are a home favorite here with -181 moneyline odds for an implied win probability of 64.41%. The Kraken comes back at +161 and has a 38.31% chance of taking this one. Although these two have only met four times before, Toronto has won three of those meetings. They beat Seattle 5-1 in February.

Not The Best Start For Seattle

Yes, it's early in the season, but the Kraken aren't exactly on the trajectory they want after nearly making the conference finals in 2022-23. Seattle is fifth in the Pacific Division at the moment with an 8-10-5 record and a pretty poor -17 goal difference. The Kraken ranks 26th in goals scored and has allowed 3.48 goals per game, which is one of the worst marks in the league, too. Not much is going right. Last season's leading goal scorer Jared McCann has only netted nine times and tallied five assists after scoring 40 and assisting another 30 a year ago. Matty Beniers, also one of their most productive offensive players, has yet to really find a rhythm as well.

The Canucks hammered Seattle 5-1 last Friday before Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks welcomed them to the United Center, winning 4-3. Both teams scored a pair of goals in the first period before Chicago gave themselves a lead with two goals in the second. The Kraken got one back through Tye Kartye in the third, but it was too little too late. Seattle was outshot 36-23.

That's actually three losses in the last four for the Kraken now, who also fell to the Calgary Flames early last week prior to a 7-1 win over the lowly San Jose Sharks. Thursday is a prime opportunity for Seattle to show they can compete with elite teams. However, if Beniers and McCann don't get going soon, it's hard to imagine this group being a playoff team again.

Maple Leafs Playing Well

While they're not at the top of the Eastern Conference nor the Atlantic Division, an 11-6-3 record isn't bad by any means. The Maple Leafs are also 6-3-1 in their last 10 contests, beating several solid opponents during this stretch, including the Canucks, Red Wings, and most recently, the Stanley Cup finalist Panthers, the same team who eliminated Toronto from the playoffs earlier in 2023.

As expected, it was a gritty game between a pair of teams that clearly do not like each other. In total, there were 81 hits, which sheds light on the physicality of this affair. Florida center Kevin Stenlund opened the scoring in the first but defenceman Noah Gregor scored his third goal of the campaign in the second to tie it up. After a goalless five-minute overtime period, things went to a shootout. Gregor was the unlikely hero again, beating Anthony Stolarz in the shootout.

Toronto just lost Mark Giordano to an injury, which puts more of an emphasis on them going out and getting another blue liner. After all, the Maple Leafs are allowing too many goals per night (3.3). On the offensive side of things, Sheldon Keefe's team is scoring the same number of goals per game, which ranks 14th.

William Nylander leads the way with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) while Auston Matthews has scored 14 times. Overall, the core four has accounted for 88 points in total. They're definitely doing their part. Toronto has a 6-4-0 record at Scotiabank in 2023-24 and has won three consecutive at home. We'll see if the Leafs can make it four.

Kraken vs Maple Leafs Picks

Toronto is 5-2 SU in their last seven outings and has played well against Pacific Division opponents in recent memory. I like the Maple Leafs moneyline here.

Toronto Maple Leafs Moneyline Vs Seattle Kraken
-177
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Meet the author

Quinn Allen

Quinn Allen leverages his broadcast journalism degree and passion for sports in his betting previews and analysis. Based in Kelowna, Canada, he has emerged as an expert voice with picks featured on OSB, MTS, SBD, and as a ClutchPoints editor. With a lifelong fandom of...

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