The Toronto Maple Leafs look to close out their first-round series with the Tampa Bay Lightning, playing host for Game 5.
All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook
Tampa Bay Lightning (+130) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (-156) Total: 6.5 (O -110, U -110)After back-to-back improbable overtime winners, the Leafs look to finally close out an opponent in the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Is this the year they get the job done? Toronto reshaped its roster for this reason. The Maple Leafs are listed as home favorites in Game 5 at -156 on the moneyline, while the Lighting are at +130.
Toronto was up 3-2 last year and failed to close it out, but this time, they’ll have three tries to finish it.
Looking toward the projected goalie matchup, the visiting Lightning will continue riding Andrei Vasilevskiy, while the Maple Leafs will do the same with Ilya Samsonov. The Lightning’s netminder has a 1-3 record with a .856 save percentage, while Samsonov is 3-1 with a .876 save percentage. The Maple Leafs have seemingly figured out Vasilevskiy, which should continue tonight.
Toronto hasn’t played its best hockey in this series but is still up 3-1. In our eyes, that’s a very positive sign of what this team is capable of. Tampa Bay has finally run out of gas and will taste an early exit.
Best Bet: Maple Leafs moneyline (-156)
The first four games in this series saw ten, nine, seven, and nine goals scored. The two teams have a lot of firepower, but we didn’t project the series to have this much offense. The reasoning for that was because of an intense goalie matchup, but neither has performed like a top-end netminder. The total for tonight is set at 6.5, with the over priced at -118 and the under at -104. With recent trends, there’s no point in fighting the goals anymore. Back the over.
Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-110)
It hasn’t been easy for the Leafs to get over their playoff hump, but they’re showing new strength this season. The player that we’ve seen the most from is Auston Matthews, who put the team on his back in Game 4 with multiple goals in the third. Matthews is showing the hockey world what he’s capable of, which means we feel comfortable backing him to score in Game 5, listed at an appetizing +104.
Best Prop: Auston Matthews to Record Over 0.5 Goals (+104)
