The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead when they host the semi-desperate Boston Bruins in Game 4 of their first round Eastern Conference playoff series on Wednesday night. Now, let’s find out if the Leafs can get what looks like a series-altering win or whether Boston is the pick to get the huge road win. Let’s check the NHL betting odds for this game.
Bruins vs Maple Leafs 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds & Game 4 Analysis
Pregame updates per Bruce Cassidy:
John Moore and Marcus Johansson are “trending well” and if they feel good enough they’ll go back in tonight. Steven Kampfer and Karson Kuhlman would likely be the scratches. pic.twitter.com/V36SXkRgoB — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 17, 2019
- When: Wednesday April 17, 2019, 7:00 PM ET
- Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
- TV: NBCSN
- Opening NHL Odds: Boston +105/Toronto -125 (total 6)
Why Bet On Boston
The Bruins are completely and utterly desperate after falling to Toronto 3-2 in Game 3 on Monday and now, they’re semi-desperate to avoid falling into a damaging 3-1 hole. David Krejci and Charlie Coyle scored for Boston and Tuukka Rask stopped 31 shots, but it wasn’t enough to take down the explosive Maple Leafs.
“They played hard,” Bruins winger Brad Marchand said. “They upped their compete level. Ours wasn’t as good as it needed to be. But we’re right there — we had some opportunities to tie it up late.”The difference was special teams. We’ll clean it up and get ready for the next one.”
Boston’s top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Pastrnak has combined for just six points in the series and four of those points came in Boston’s 4-1 win in Game 2 on Saturday. A year ago, Boston’s top line scored 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in last year’s seven-game series against Toronto, so this line is clearly struggling mightily right now and that could spell doom for Boston in this series.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.13
- Shots: 32.88
- PP/PK Percentage: 26.15
- Goals: 2.62
- Shots: 29.58
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.32
Why Bet On Toronto
The Maple Leafs are looking great heading into Game 4, following their huge Game 3 win at home on Saturday. Auston Matthews scored his first goal of the playoffs and set up another.
“It’s nice to get one,” said Matthews, who had just two points against Boston in the 2018 postseason. “It’s just another level when you score a goal in the playoffs, especially at home. “I’ve said this before, it feels like an earthquake under you. The atmosphere tonight was unbelievable and we just want to continue what we built off tonight here on Wednesday.”
Andreas Johnsson, added a goal and an assist, Trevor Moore added another goal in the win and goalie Frederik Andersen made 34 saves to get the win. Just as important was a pair of body blocks by Mitch Marner who sacrificed his body to the delight of his coaches and teammates.
“I mean, there’s dentists for a reason, so whatever. Luckily enough, it didn’t hit me in the face, but it could have been a tough result if it had,” Marner said on Tuesday.
“That’s what you’ve got to do to win,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “Ideally, all those things are contagious. When you see your teammate do something like that, you’re more likely to do it yourself.”
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.46
- Shots: 33.33
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.56
- Goals: 3.04
- Shots: 33.31
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.66
Bruins vs Maple Leafs NHL Betting Trends
- Boston is 9-4 ATS in its last 13 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games
- Boston is 8-1 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
- Toronto is 4-15 ATS in its last 19 games
- Toronto is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Toronto’s last 8 games
Expert Analysis and Prediction
I know Boston is desperate and that the Bruins have been one of the best defensive teams in the league in each of the past two years, but right now, Boston is struggling to score and they’re not stopping Toronto at the other end of the ice with the consistency they need in order to win this series. Toronto is feeling super confident right now and playing in front of their home fans again in Game 4.
Boston is 2-5 in their last seven games as an underdog, 1-6 in their last seven playoff games as an underdog and an identical 1-6 in their last seven games against teams from the Atlantic Division. Conversely, Toronto has gone 39-17 in their last 56 games as a home favorite and a blistering 8-2 in their last 10 home games against Boston. With the home team in this rivalry going 7-2 in the last nine meetings, I believe the handwriting is on the wall. Toronto wins to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Pick: Toronto 4 Boston 3
