Toronto Marlies Sport Plus Odds in Big AHL Slate

• The Toronto Marlies, despite playing poorly this month are hot off a win and now face the 18th ranked Hartford Wolf Pack.
• The AHL slate features 10 games, but has very tight odds with most teams playing other similar squads in terms of standings.
• The Marlies are one of the only teams to be underdogs against an opponent ranked over 10 spots below them, mainly due to their top goalie being called up.

HARTFORD, Conn. – With 20 AHL teams playing Wednesday, the big slate should inevitably reveal some strong value. However, the majority of teams play their close neighbor in the standings, making most games hard to predict as 12 teams sport odds between -105 and -125.

Yet, if we take a look at the biggest underdog on the AHL betting slate, the fifth place Toronto Marlies has value against the 18th place Hartford Wolf Pack. With the Marlies comfortably in the playoffs as the third seed in the East, this makes their +110 odds on legal betting sites a great snag.

Loss of Top Goalie Bodes Poorly but Presents Value

Likely the top reason for the Toronto Marlies being +110 underdogs is the recent news of top goalie Joseph Woll being called up.

Before being called up, Woll was among the top goalies in the AHL, ranking second for save percentage as well as sixth in goals allowed on average. Despite this loss though, the Marlies do have a viable backup in Keith Petruzzelli.

Petruzzelli, while giving up about a half goal more on average than Woll, does have a similar save percentage at 91% compared to 92.7% for Woll. In his last game, Petruzzelli gave up just two goals in a 6-2 victory over the Belleville Senators.

All of this combined with the Marlies winning 3-2 in their last matchup vs the Wolf Pack makes the +110 odds for them to win a great value.

Other Strong Picks

The Cleveland Monsters are another close betting lines team, as they sport -115 odds on online sportsbooks against the reeling Belleville Senators. The Monsters have beaten them in four out of six games this year and the Senators are allowing three or more goals in four out of the last five games.

This is made even better as goalie Jon Gillies was recalled by the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Monsters will instead get back Jet Greaves, who played a fair bit better for them than Gillies throughout his stint earlier in the year.

Lastly, the Providence Bruins feature -125 odds to beat the Hershey Bears, which they have done in four out of five matchups this year. Also, the Bruins have recently welcomed back center Oskar Steen, who has scored 31 points over 62 games this year for them.

While the odds are a bit shorter than most others on the day, the proven track record makes this worth the -125 odds with the Bruins moving up into first place in the league if they win.