Tampa Bay Is Favored To Top Toronto Again
Leafs vs Lightning Odds Favor Host Tampa End Season Strong
Playoff-Bound Tampa Bay and Toronto Could Be Headed To Another One-Goal Game
This will be the final regular-season game for both Toronto and Tampa Bay before the playoffs. The Leafs vs Lightning odds favor the host Lightning.
When looking at the NHL playoff schedule, Toronto finished third in the Atlantic Division opens on the road against the Boston Bruins. Tampa Bay draws Atlantic Division champion Florida.
Toronto had won six of the previous seven NHL games against division rival Tampa Bay before the Lightning won 4-1 at Toronto earlier this month. The Maple Leafs have won five games in a row at Tampa Bay with each being decided by one goal.
The NHL betting lines have Tampa Bay priced at -125 to win the game outright with +190 odds to cover as the 1.5-goal favorite. Toronto has +105 odds to continue winning in Tampa with -230 odds to cover against the puck line (ATS) as the 1.5-goal underdog.
Toronto is tied for ninth at +1400 in the odds of winning the Stanley Cup while Tampa Bay comes in 12th at +2200 in the championship odds.
Keep on reading the matchup between the Maple Leafs and the Lightning.
Maple Leafs vs Lightning 
Records: Maple Leafs (46-25-10), Lightning (44-29-8)
Day, Time:
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
Streaming: TNT, truTV, MAX
History Awaiting For Matthews
After seeing his goal-scoring streak snapped at eight games in Tuesday’s loss to Florida, Auston Matthews has one more chance to become the first American-born player to score 70 goals in a season.
No player has scored at least 70 goals since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny accomplished the feat over 30 years ago. Matthews could join Selanne, Mogilny, Wayne Gretzky, Brett Hull, Mario Lemieux, Phil Esposito, Jari Kurri, and Bernie Nicholls as the only 70-goal scorers in what would be the biggest news among the NHL games played tonight.
Matthews has three goals and an assist with 12 shots on goal in his last two games against the Lightning. That is something to consider with the Leafs vs Lightning odds.
The total has gone over in four of Toronto’s last five games.
Kucherov Eyeing Scoring Title
The only time two players had 100 assists in the same season came in 1988-89 when Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux each had 114 assists.
With Edmonton’s Connor McDavid already at 100 assists and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov at 99 assists, perhaps that will change in Wednesday’s game.
Kucherov has 142 points, four more than Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon with one game left for both hockey players as Kucherov is on the verge of winning the NHL scoring title for the second time in the last six seasons.
Kucherov has four goals and six assists in the first three games against Toronto this season. Keep that in mind when looking at the Leafs vs Lightning odds.
Four of Tampa Bay’s last six games at home have gone under the total.
Last Meeting
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 of 29 shots while Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos had second-period goals as Tampa Bay won 4-1 at Toronto despite being outshot 29-25.
It was the third time in the last five meetings that a game between Toronto and Tampa Bay went under the total.
Maple Leafs vs Lightning Betting Preview
Ten of the last 15 games between the Lightning and the Maple Leafs have been decided by one goal and perhaps that game will be headed in that direction.
Forwards Max Domi, Calle Jarnkrok, and Bobby McMann are out for Toronto as are defensemen Connor Timmins and John Klingberg while defenseman Joel Edmundson is probable.
Winger Tyler Motte and defenseman Haydn Fleury are questionable while forward Logan Brown and defenseman Mikhail Sergachev are out.
Tampa Bay is 28-20-3 as the favorite this NHL season while Toronto is 6-8-2 when listed as the underdog.
Tampa Bay is 13-5-2 as the home favorite and has covered in 10 of those games. Toronto is 4-4 outright and 5-3 against the puck line as the road underdog.
The Lightning is 21-19 ATS at home with 21 of those games landing over the total. The Leafs are 18-22 ATS on the road.
Twelve of the last 18 games between the Maple Leafs and the Lightning have gone over the total with the total at 6.5 goals for this game. Don’t be surprised to see this game go over that total.
With the playoffs set, the focus will be on Hart Trophy candidates Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov going after their respective milestones. Both hockey teams have lost three games in a row. This will be a chance for one of them to head into the postseason on a winning note.
For NHL betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
