Toronto Maple Leafs vs Chicago Blackhawks Prediction: The Hawks cannot solve any serious problems

Prediction for the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs vs Chicago Blackhawks match which will take place on October 17th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Toronto continues to dream of a great time with a very high-quality lineup, but the team's results could have been faster. For two decades, the Maple Leafs have never passed the first round of the playoffs. The losing streak was broken in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs when they finally beat Tampa Bay but fell to Florida. Sheldon Keefe's team had a strong preseason, losing just twice in eight regular-season meetings, and swept Montreal and Minnesota in their regular-season openers, 6:5 and 7:4.

Connor Bedard is still one of the biggest underdogs in the NHL. The team is still in the stage of a personnel rebuild, as Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have already finished playing for the Hawks, and no new stars can drag the team. Connor Bedard is getting more and more attention, but it's hard for an 18-year-old to show quality play. The young Canadian has been productive in his three regular-season starts, but the Hawks only beat Pittsburgh 4:2, followed by losses to Chicago 3:1 and Montreal 3:2.

Toronto and Chicago are two teams on completely different levels right now. The Canadian team has been one of the favorites in the league for the past few years, consistently posting good results in the regular season. On the other hand, the Hawks cannot solve any serious problems in recent years. The Maple Leafs won both games in the debut of the current season, but the Hawks lost the last two meetings. 

A high-scoring activity has characterized the confrontation between Toronto and Chicago in recent years. In the eight previous meetings, the rivals scored 68 goals against each other (averaging 8.50 goals per game) - a very high result even for North American hockey. Efficiency shouldn't be an issue in the upcoming matchup either, as the Maple Leafs have been unstoppable in the season debut while making mistakes on defense that led to wins - 6:5 and 7:4.