Can Toronto Stave of Playoff Elimination Despite Odds?

Bruins Are Eyeing a Seventh Straight Playoff Series Win Over Toronto

After grabbing momentum with a Game 2 win in Boston, the Toronto Maple Leafs are back on the road playing to avoid playoff elimination and dealing with questions about the health of NHL goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews heading into Game 5. The Maple Leafs vs Bruins odds have Boston favored. Both games in Toronto were in the pick’em category.

Boston is 7-1 against Toronto this season and one more win will give the Bruins their seventh straight series win over the Maple Leafs. The last time Toronto topped Boston in a playoff series was in 1959. We’re still looking for tweets and other social media posts from that series.

The winner of this series will meet either Florida or Tampa Bay in the next round of the NHL hockey playoffs.

The NHL odds have the Bruins priced at -162 to win the game with Toronto at +136 to win outright. Boston is +164 to cover the -1.5 puck line while Toronto is at -198 to cover +1.5. The total is set at 5.5 with a strong lean on the over at -122.

When looking at Stanley Cup odds, Boston is tied for ninth at +1400 for the best odds to win the Stanley Cup. Toronto is 11th at +1600 in the championship odds. Boston is now priced at -1200 to win the series.

All Eyes on Matthews

As if losing both games at Scotiabank Arena, there are questions regarding the health of Auston Matthews. The star is the franchise’s third-leading scorer and he missed the third period of Game 4 due to illness. That could factor into the Maple Leafs vs Bruins odds.

Matthews had a goal and two assists to lead Toronto to a 3-2 win over Boston in Game 2. He had four goals and two assists in the four wins over Tampa Bay as the Maple Leafs won their first playoff series since 2004.

Toronto has lost five of its last six elimination games with Matthews in the lineup so it remains to be seen what will happen if he is unable to play. With two days since the last game, he does have a little extra time to get healthy.

When looking at the NHL live scores, remember that Toronto is just 19-24 against the spread on the road.

Bruins Looking to Seal The Deal

The Bruins were leading 3-1 and heading home for Game 5 a season ago in the first round. We saw how Florida won the next three games, two of them in overtime. Both of those overtime games came in Boston as the Bruins were the latest President’s Trophy team that failed to turn that regular-season success into a deep playoff run.

Boston led either 2-1 or 3-1 only the lose a playoff series in four of the last five seasons and this Bruins team does tend to make things a little more challenging than it needs to be at times. That is something to keep in mind when looking at the Maple Leafs vs Bruins odds.

Just 19 of Boston’s 43 home games have landed over the total.

Maple Leafs vs Bruins Injury Update

Matthews is questionable for Toronto. Forward Bobby McMann as well as defensemen John Klingberg and Jake Muzzin is out.

Boston defenseman Derek Forbort is questionable for Boston. He hasn’t played since March 2. Defenseman Andrew Peeke is out.

Maple Leafs vs Bruins Betting Preview

Boston is just 2-5 in the last seven games when having a chance to close out a series with three of those losses coming at home.

Boston is 39-29-11 as a favorite this season while Toronto has a 7-10-2 outright record as the underdog.
The total has gone over in eight of Toronto’s last nine games.

Ten of Boston’s last 13 games landed under the total with the total set at 5.5 for Game 5.

Any chance Toronto had of evening the series at 2-2 ended thanks to a brutal turnover by Ryan Reaves and another costly penalty by Max Domi. Toronto has been a physical team as only Tampa Bay averages more hits per 60 minutes than the Maple Leafs. However, the Lightning are also on the verge of elimination.

When the series went to Toronto, the question was whether the Bruins could slow down Matthews. Now it is whether the Maple Leafs to do the same to Brad Marchand after the Bruins’ captain had three goals and two assists in the last two games. He hasn’t had three straight multi-point games this season.

Toronto is 1-10 in its last 11 games against the Bruins. The Maple Leafs are 1-7 over the last eight games. Expect a desperate Toronto team with the Maple Leafs looking to send the series back to Toronto for Game 6.

Six of the last nine games went under the total as have four of the last five home games for the Bruins. Meanwhile, four of Toronto’s last five road games went over the total.

Going with Toronto to cover at +1.5 seems like the best way to proceed when making NHL predictions.

For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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