The Toronto Maple Leafs will conclude their three-game California road trip when they take on the Anaheim Ducks Sunday evening. Toronto responded to its disappointing shootout loss in San Jose with a high-quality performance last night versus the Los Angeles Kings and will look to remain atop the Atlantic Division by earning a win in this matchup.

The Leafs hold a record of 6-4-2 in the second leg of back-to-back spots this season and have two remaining after tonight’s matchup amid a busy April schedule.

I’ll detail the relevant game notes, as well as outline my favourite betting angles below.

The Leafs authored an impressive performance Saturday in Los Angeles, handing the Kings just their fourth regulation loss on home ice.

The Leafs were much sharper defensively in the first period than we saw in San Jose, and a review of the game film would show Stolarz’ mainly faced shots from the outside and mostly pressured shots from the interior. The second period was equally impressive, aside from Alex Laferriere’s pretty backhand goal, which came after he walked by Simon Benoit.

Auston Matthews scored a shorthanded beauty to knot the game up at one before the Leafs power play came up clutch with a goal late in the third to carry the team to victory.

The Kings led 4.38 to 3.16 in expected goal share, but a deeper review of the game would suggest L.A.’s expected offensive output was favourable, coming from someone who was banking on Toronto allowing more goals against in Saturday’s matchup. Stolarz was sharp, but he was not asked to steal the matchup by any means.

Matthews and Mitch Marner responded quite well to the criticism regarding their performance in San Jose. While they were productive, factoring in on all three of Toronto’s goals, they were both excellent on the penalty kill and strong defensively at even strength.

Head coach Craig Berube has some options in this matchup if he wants to insert some fresh legs into the lineup, and it will be interesting to see if he opts to do so. Nick Robertson was a healthy scratch in last night’s matchup after a poor showing in San Jose, but his on-ice impact this season suggests he is still a better option than Calle Jarnkrok.

The Leafs power play has been in tremendous form recently, and if it is this effective in the playoffs, it would offer one huge reason the team could finally go on a deep run. In 14 games this month, the Leafs have scored on 41.7% of power play opportunities.

Joseph Woll is expected to start in goal after serving as backup on Saturday. Woll holds a +11.1 GSAx rating and .905 save percentage in 38 games played.

While the Ducks are set to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive season, the team has illustrated plenty of reasons for optimism in the final third of the season. The team’s core of young forwards such as Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras and Cutter Gauthier have all offered better play down the stretch, while Jackson LaCombe has been one of the league’s most positive surprises.

LaCombe racked up 21 points over the last 25 games, and has been highly impactful all over the ice. Per AllThreeZones, LaCombe ranks third among all defenders to play over 230 minutes with a controlled zone exit rate of 88.1% (Per @SlimCliffy), and has failed exits just 17.9% of the time.

Since the 4 Nations Face-Off the Ducks are 8-8-1 and have been much more competent offensively, scoring 3.44 goals per game. They are still a drastically below-average team defensively, having allowed 31.50 shots against per 60 in that span.

Lukas Dostal and John Gibson have combined for a +32.8 GSAx rating this season and have formed one of the best goaltending tandems in the NHL. It will likely be Dostal getting the start in this matchup, looking to better his .906 save percentage and +16.8 GSAx rating.

Jacob Trouba is listed as day-to-day and may be sidelined from this contest. While Trouba brings a veteran presence to the team’s young defensive corps, they have been forced to healthy scratch one of Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger in the majority of matchups since his arrival, which has been far from ideal.

The Leafs have a great opportunity to continue their push for the top seed in the Atlantic in this matchup. The Ducks offensive upside has improved recently, and they continue to receive tremendous play in goal. Still, they are without a doubt one of the league’s worst teams defensively.

A lack of consistency has me a little afraid to back Toronto at -171, but I’d still prefer to bet the Leafs than the Ducks if I was forced to bet a side in this game.

This does look like a good spot to back Bobby McMann recording over 2.5 shots on goal at a long price of +144. McMann has recorded over 2.5 shots on goal in five of the last seven games and continues to get plenty of chances playing alongside William Nylander and Tavares on the second line.

McMann ranks third on the team in shot attempts per 60 this season, and in his current roles his recent shot volume should continue. In a favourable matchup, +144 looks to be too long of a number to pass up.