After picking up a huge victory in game 3 to even their first round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs at two games apiece, the Boston Bruins will be looking to take care of business at home in Game 5. With the bruins a slight home favorite, let’s find out if Boston is the pick on the Stanley Cup betting odds to win and cash in or whether the Maple Leafs are the pick as a slight road underdog.
Maple Leafs vs Bruins NHL Playoffs Game 5 Odds, Preview, and Pick
Game day! The #NHLBruins are back on home ice for Round 1, Game 5 of the Boston Bruins Playoffs presented by @bethisraellahey. Puck drops at 7PM ET. What you should know: https://t.co/1Kky4uPt1E
📺: @NESN , @NBCSports 📻: @985TheSportsHub pic.twitter.com/5K0Nnm9iDC — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 19, 2019
- When: Friday, April 19, 2019 at 7:00 PM ET
- Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA
- TV: NBCSN
- NHL Odds: Toronto +130/Boston -145 (total 6)
Why Bet On Toronto
Despite losing Game 4 at home on Wednesday night 6-4, Toronto still looks like a solid pick in Game 5 seeing as how they smacked Boston around 4-1 in Game 1 and have put three goals or more on the board in three of the four games played so far in this series.
Auston Matthews scored twice for Toronto while Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott both added goals in the loss. Frederik Andersen stopped 25 shots, but it wasn’t nearly good enough to get past a Bruins team that looked determined from the outset.
“We had real good energy,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. “I didn’t think we had the kind of brain all that time that we wanted. Turned the puck over, two real big mistakes on the penalty kill. Just got in our own way a little bit.”
Despite the loss, Toronto did a lot of good things in Game 4 they hope will carry over into Game 5.
“We did a lot of good things,” Toronto center John Tavares said. “We generated a lot of chances, got a lot of pucks to the net. We didn’t have our best start tonight, but we gave ourselves a good chance.”
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.47
- Shots: 33.43
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.72
- Goals: 3.07
- Shots: 33.28
- PP/PK Percentage: 21.40
Why Bet On Boston
The best reason to bet on the Bruins is that they’re back at home and feeling confident after picking up a huge, 6-4 win on Wednesday night.
David Pastrnak scored a pair of goals to lead the way to victory while Brad Marchand added a goal and two assists and Charlie McAvoy added another goal and one assist.
“It’s not easy to win in this building,” Pastrnak said. “A hell of a win.”
Zdeno Chara and Joakim Nordstrom also added goals and Tuukka Rask made 38 saves to get the win.
“If I contribute something offensively, it’s always a plus,” the 42-year-old Chara said. “But my focus is always playing well defensively. I take a lot of pride in playing well defensively.”
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.16
- Shots: 32.86
- PP/PK Percentage: 26.72
- Goals: 2.64
- Shots: 29.72
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.47
Maple Leafs vs Bruins NHL Betting Trends
- Toronto is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games
- Toronto is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Toronto’s last 9 games
- Boston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 6 games
- Boston is 2-8 ATS in its last 10 games at home
Expert Analysis and Prediction
The Leafs have one of the best offenses in all of hockey, but Boston got a lot of confidence back and now, they’re back on their home ice as well. With that said, I’m going to advise you to back the Bruins to get the hard-fought, one-goal win at home in Game 5.
Toronto has gone 3-8 in their last 11 playoff games as an underdog, 2-5 in their last seven games as a road underdog and 1-5 in their last six games as an underdog. Conversely, Boston has gone 6-2 in their last 8 after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game, a blistering 52-21 in their last 73 home games and a bankroll-boosting 22-10 in their last 32 games overall. It won’t be a cakewalk, but I like Boston in a tight affair.
Pick: Boston 4 Toronto 3
