The Toronto Maple Leafs pushed their winning streak to three with a 6-1 triumph over the New Jersey Devils last night and now look for four in a row as they visit TD Garden to take on the Boston Bruins. Toronto won three of the four regular-season games vs Boston last year but is a +115 underdog in tonight’s game and Boston comes back at -140 with the total Sportsbook at 5.5 goals.
- Toronto is 10-5 in its last 15 games vs Boston.
- The total has gone OVER in four of Toronto’s last six games vs Boston.
- Toronto is 5-0 SU and ATS in its last five road games.
Maple Leafs vs Bruins Game Center
Offense is clicking for Toronto
The Maple Leafs have outscored their opponents 14-2 during this three-game winning streak, even with the absence of young sensation Auston Matthews. This isn’t just a flash in the pan, though, as they have scored the second-most goals in the league thus far (57) and are averaging 3.56 goals per game which are the third-most. Toronto is extremely dangerous on the road thus far, averaging a startling 5.33 goals per game which is 1.19 goals more than second-place Pittsburgh, and it holds a perfect 6-0-0 record in away games.
With the Leafs playing on back-to-back nights, it’ll be Garret Sparks between the pipes tonight. The 25-year-old has been victorious in his previous two starts this season but he hasn’t exactly had the prettiest performances. Sparks allowed six goals on 31 shots in Chicago in early October, but Toronto flexed its muscles for a 7-6 OT win. The Illinois native played much better at home a week later when he surrendered just one goal on 34 shots over the visiting Los Angeles Kings. Will we be getting Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde in tonight’s contest vs Boston?
Boston is dangerous at home
The Bruins are in the midst of a four-game homestand, claiming a 2-1 victory over Dallas on Monday, but were swarmed 8-5 by Vancouver on Thursday. Overall this season, Boston is an impressive 5-2-0 at TD Garden and is second in the league in home goals scored, averaging 4.00 goals per game. The top line for the B’s of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak may be the best line in all of hockey as they have tallied a combined 25 goals between them which is 56.8 percent of the team’s total goals.
Although they have only had 49 Sportsbook opportunities, (seventh-fewest in the NHL) they capitalize on those chances, scoring 30.6 percent of the time which is the third-highest percentage in the league. Boston will also be without its starting netminder for tonight’s game as Tuukka Rask has left the team for personal matters and Jaroslav Halak will be deflecting pucks for the next little while. Halak has been fairly active thus far, as this is his eighth start of the year, holding a 4-1-2 record with an impressive 1.96 ERA and a .936 save percentage. The 33-year-old was between the pipes for that 8-5 thrashing by the Canucks on Thursday and he surrendered five goals on 19 shots.
Is the OVER the smart bet?
Coach Mike Babcock has been able to get the Leafs rolling in away games and Sportsbook has tonight’s total Sportsbook at 5.5 goals. Both teams possess terrific top lines that can pile on points seemingly at ease, and four of the last six meetings between Toronto and Boston have gone OVER with an average combined score of seven. Meanwhile, the Bruins score the second-most goals at home this season averaging 4.00 goals per game, while the Leafs score the most road goals this season at 5.33. Lastly, we have two backup goaltenders and Sparks will be making his first start at TD Garden in front of what will surely be a raucous Boston crowd that could get him off his game so I think the OVER is the smart bet.
My take on Toronto vs Boston
I like the OVER 5.5 goals in tonight’s game. This is becoming a bitter rivalry between these two teams, with Boston’s recent playoff success over Toronto, but the Leafs have dominated the B’s in the regular season. I expect Boston to dig at Sparks to try and get him off his game and we saw in the Chicago game that if he isn’t solid between the pipes he struggles to stop a beach ball. Toronto scores the most road goals in the league, Boston scores the second-most home goals, two back up goalies all signs point to the OVER.
