The lone National Hockey League playoff game on Thursday features the Boston Bruins on the road at the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Boston Bruins lead the best of 7 series; 3-2 over Toronto. The Maple Leafs are coming off a road win to keep the series alive.
Boston finished second in the Atlantic Division with their 47-20-15 record. The Bruins fell in their final two regular season games to be overtaken by the Florida Panthers. The winner of this series will take on the Panthers in the second round.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, they won Game 5 without their top scorer Auston Matthews. He is questionable to play in Game 6. The Maple Leafs finished third in the divisional standings with their 46-26-10 record. Toronto fell in their final four games of the season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are both -110 in this game, making it a true pick’em according to Vegas oddsmakers.
Maple Leafs Look to Force Game 7
Jake McCabe got the Maple Leafs on the board first in the Tuesday win. He scored in the first period. They did not score again until overtime, when Matthew Knies scored his second of the series to win the game. In five games this series, Toronto has struggled to score, with just 9 goals.
WIth the loss of Matthews, that is 107 regular season points not on the ice. Mattehws finished the regular season with 69 goals in 81 games. William Nylander and Mitch Marner are next for Toronto. Nylanders was two points shy of 100 on the season, while Marner fished out a team high 59 assists.
In between the pipes for Toronto was Joseph Woll. It was his first start of the postseason. He turned away 27 of 28 shots for the Maple Leafs. Woll made 23 regular season starts, going 12-11-1, with a 2.93 goals against.
Bruins Looking to Move to Florida
The Boston Bruins are looking for one more win, then a trip to Sunrise Florida for the second round against the Panthers. Boston was one of the best defensive teams in the regular season, as they allowed just 2.7 goals per game. The Bruins played great defense in the Game 5 loss, but could not find their offense.
The lone goal in Game 5 was from Trent Frederic, as he scored his third of the season. David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand are the top two scoring threats for Boston. Pastrnak went for 63 assists and 47 goals in the regular season. This series he has scored two goals, and dished out two assists.
Jeremy Swayman will likely be between the pipes for Boston. Swayman saved 31 shots in the loss. In the series, he has played in four of the five games. Swayman has allowed 6 goals in those four games. During the regular season, he went 25-10-8, with a 2.53 goals against average.
Toronto Survives
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to win this game at home. With or without Matthews, they got some momentum, and are going to take care of business. That will leave a crazy Game 7 over the weekend in Boston.
We like Toronto to survive here. Our final bet for this game is the Toronto Maple Leafs -110 over the Boston Bruins. Enjoy the game and best of luck with all your National Hockey League betting!
