Devils vs. Maple Leafs Prediction
| Devils Odds | +165 |
| Maple Leafs Odds | -200 |
| Over / Under | 6.5 -110o / -110u |
Here's everything you need to know about the New Jersey Devils vs. Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, April 11 – our expert NHL prediction and pick.
On Thursday the New Jersey Devils head to Scotiabank Arena for the second leg of a home-and-home with the Toronto Maple Leafs. This marks the third and final meeting between these two teams this season.
The Maple Leafs emerged with a 5-2 victory over the Devils in New Jersey on Tuesday, but the Devils earned a 6-3 win when they met in Toronto in late March.
Let’s dig into the NHL odds and make a prediction for Devils vs. Maple Leafs.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils have officially been eliminated from playoff contention with their loss on Tuesday, and with Jack Hughes now headed for surgery, it feels like the Devils are going to limp to the finish line.
To call New Jersey’s 2023-2024 season a disappointment might be an understatement. After snapping a decade-long playoff drought and setting a new franchise record for wins, the Devils entered this year with lofty expectations. They were regarded as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, expected to make the jump from a young, upstart squad to a group that is perennially in the hunt.
Instead, the Devils will likely finish seventh in the Metropolitan Division.
New Jersey never found its groove, plagued by injuries and shaky goaltending all season. Dougie Hamilton has been out since late November while Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier all missed significant time. The Devils tried to address their goaltending issues at the trade deadline, but it was too little too late.
New Jersey fired coach Lindy Ruff in early March in another effort to light a spark, but the results under interim coach Travis Green haven’t been any better. The Devils are 7-10-1 with Green behind the bench, and they've never really come close to getting back into the playoff picture.
They head into Thursday’s game having lost five of their past six contests but with an opportunity to play spoiler against the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders in their final two regular-season games.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs aren’t playing for much on Thursday, either, but that’s because they appeared locked into the third spot in the Atlantic Division.
Toronto will spend its final four regular-season games gearing up for its likely first-round matchup against the Florida Panthers.
Perhaps the Maple Leafs’ strongest motivation will be helping Auston Matthews in his quest for 70 goals. After scoring his 66th goal of the season against the Devils on Tuesday, Matthews will need four goals across the final four games to become the first player to hit the plateau since 1992-1993. He already became the first player since Mario Lemieux to eclipse 65 goals in a season.
Matthews is red hot with goals in six straight games. He also has goals in both games against the Devils this season and 16 goals in 17 career games against New Jersey.
Record-chase aside, the Maple Leafs have continued to play well of late. Toronto enters Thursday’s contest having won three games in a row and six of its past seven games.
If the Maple Leafs continue to roll and the Panthers falter, Toronto has a chance to leapfrog them in the standings and earn home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Devils vs. Maple Leafs
Betting Pick & Prediction
Perhaps it's a chalky pick, but I'm buying Matthews' 70-goal chase. He's been on fire lately and has been shooting the puck a ton.
Against a team that doesn't defend particularly well, the 26-year-old should have plenty of chances to score, especially given the Maple Leafs could see an empty-net situation in the third period.
I'm not sure he'll get to 70, but I've got Matthews at least making it interesting over the final few games. And I like his chances to get No. 67 on Thursday night.
