Tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs face off against the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena in what promises to be an exciting Original Six matchup. This is the first clash between the two teams this season.
The Maple Leafs enter the game with a record of 8-5-1, having won five of their last six games. Their most recent victory was a 5-3 win over the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday. Toronto is averaging 3.71 goals per game, ranking them second in the league. However, their power play has struggled, sitting at 31st in the league with an 11.8% conversion rate. William Nylander leads the team with 20 points, while John Tavares and Matthew Knies each have 18 points. Defensively, the Leafs will be without Chris Tanev, who is on injured reserve. Joseph Woll has returned from personal leave but will join the Toronto Marlies for conditioning. There is a possibility that D Simon Benoit will return after missing the last game due to illness. Projected lines for the Maple Leafs are Knies-Matthews-Nylander, Robertson-Tavares-McMann, Joshua-Roy-Maccelli, and Lorentz-Laughton-Domi. The defensive pairings are expected to be Rielly-Carlo, Ekman-Larsson-McCabe, and Mermis-Myers.
The Boston Bruins come to Toronto with a 9-7 record and are currently on a five-game winning streak. Their latest win was a 3-2 overtime victory against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Boston's power play is ranked 13th in the NHL. Morgan Geekie leads the Bruins with ten goals, while Pavel Zacha has 14 points in 16 games. The Bruins' projected lines are Geekie-Khusnutdinov-Pastrnak, Mittelstadt-Zacha-Arvidsson, Jeannot-Minten-Kastelic, and Viel-Kuraly-Eyssimont. The defensive pairings are expected to be Zadorov-McAvoy, H. Lindholm-Peeke, and Aspirot-Jokiharju. The goaltenders are likely to be Swayman and Korpisalo.
Looking at head-to-head stats, the Maple Leafs have a 8-6-4 record against the Bruins in their last 18 regular-season games. Last season, Toronto had a 3-0-1 record against Boston. Both teams have the same penalty kill percentage this season at 83.3%.
Several betting insights are available for this game. The Maple Leafs are favored to win with a moneyline of -188, while the Bruins are the underdogs at +155. The over/under for the total number of goals is set at 6.5. Some betting tips include taking the over on 6.5 goals, betting on the Leafs to win, and considering the Bruins to cover the +1.5 spread. A same-game parlay could include over 3.5 goals for the Leafs and the Leafs to win the third period puck line (-0.5). John Tavares' shot prop is set at 2.5 shots, and he has been consistently shooting at a high rate this season.
The Maple Leafs have won the last three meetings against the Bruins, outscoring them 15-8. Toronto has also been strong in the third period, outscoring their opponents 25-15. The Bruins, however, have struggled in the third period, ranking 30th in goals allowed.
