NHL Game Preview for Friday December 9, 2011: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Washington Capitals

Online Wagering Overview
It has been a rough week for the Northeast Division. This was the first time in a long time that every team in a division had lost its most recent game in the same week. All of the Northeast teams are coming off loses this week, including the Toronto Maple Leafs. But the Leafs are still plugging away at the Northeast Division standings and trying to keep pace with the division-leading Boston Bruins. The Bruins are not making it easy when it goes 8-1-1 in the last 10 games. Toronto has posted a 5-4-1 record in its last five games, but there are no glaring weaknesses on the Leafs’ roster. Top goalie James Reimer is back from injury and trying to work the kinks out of his game. In the meantime, the Leafs are playing some hard-nosed hockey.

The price per head bookmaking sports crowd has noticed that the Washington Capitals are not playing any better under new head coach Dale Hunter than they did for Bruce Boudreau. The performance of the Anaheim Ducks since Boudreau arrived there after getting fired from Washington would suggest that Boudreau was not the problem in Washington. Alexander Ovechkin sprung to life in the Caps’ most recent game against Ottawa to propel the team to a 5-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. But the Caps are still not playing with any heart, and that needs to change if the team is going to start picking up some much-needed wins.

Toronto Maple Leafs
There is not denying the fact that, even with a healthy Reimer in goal, the Leafs tend to give up a lot of goals. In 28 games played this season, the Leafs have given up 90 goals. That is better than three per game, and that can be a problem if your team is not scoring goals. In that same period, the Leafs have scored 89 goals. According to the price per head services experts, that means that the Leafs tend to get blown out of games every once in a while. With the Capitals starting to score goals in bunches, that could be bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Washington Capitals
Dale Hunter was an aggressive player in his playing days and he is proving to be an aggressive coach. An aggressive coach that expects a lot from his players is exactly what the Washington Capitals need. This is the same team that benched star player Alexander Semin early in the season for a lack of effort. Hunter is trying to put a better work ethic and a meaner attitude into his team. He has the players to make that kind of an approach happen. It is just a matter of whether or not the players are interested in buying in to that kind of an approach.

The Bottom Line
A wagerweb review of the Caps’ last 10 games shows a team that has gone 4-6-0. But the team appears to slowly be turning a corner and improving its play. The Caps are 9-4-1 at home, and look to improve on that record when the Leafs come to town.

Pick: Washington Capitals

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