Game 5 of the best of 7 series in the National Hockey League will feature the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Boston Bruins. The Maple Leafs are looking to keep their season alive, and force the series back to Toronto for Game 6. The Maple Leafs lone win in this series came in Game 2.
Toronto went 46-26-10 in the regular season. Despite losing their final four games of the regular season, Toronto was third in the Atlantic Division. The Maple Leafs have scored just three goals combined in their last two games.
For Boston, they are looking to get to the second round of the postseason. The Bruins would take on the Florida Panthers in the second round. Boston went 47-20-15. Boston fell in their final two regular season games, which cost them a chance to win the division.
The Boston Bruins are -165 at home over the Toronto Maple Leafs in this game. The total for this affair is at 5.5 goals.
Maple Leafs Looking to Stay Alive
The Maple Leafs scored 3.63 goals per game in the regular season. Through the first four games in this series, they have scored just a total of 7. The lone goal scorer in the game 3 loss was Mitch Marner. Marner scored his first of the postseason late in the game.
The Toronto goaltending needs to be better as well. Ilya Samsonov allowed three goals in 17 shots allowed. In the season, Samsonov was better than he has been in the postseason. So far, he has allowed 12 goals in four games.
Toronto struggled down the stretch of the regular season as well. After beating the Devils on April 9th, the Maple Leafs lost their final four games. Toronto lost to the Devils, Red Wings, Panthers and Lightning to wrap up the season.
Boston Looking to Advance
The Boston Bruins were one of the teams at the start of the season many were talking about winning the Stanley Cup. Now,, with a win in this game, they would be down to the final 8 teams in the postseason. The winner of this series would likely get Florida in the second round, a team that beat them in the division by a single point.
Boston saw both Brad Marchand and Davis Pastrnak score a goal in the Game 4 win. Marchand’s was his third of the postseason, while Pastrnak now has two. Pastrnak led the team in both goals and assists while playing in the regular season. He scored 47 goals and dished out 63 assists.
Jeremy Swayman was solid in between the pipes for Boston. He turned away 24 of 25 shots. He made 44 starts in the regular season, finishing with a final record of 25-10-8 on the season. Swayman allowed just 2.53 goals per game.
Bruins Eliminate Maple Leafs
The Boston Bruins are ready to finish this series off, and wait for their second round battle to begin. Boston is the better team, and the more consistent team. Toronto is the more scary team, but when Boston brings their defensive skates they are tough to beat.
The Bruins slow the Maple Leafs down and win this game. Take the Boston Bruins -165 over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday!
