Bruins vs. Maple Leafs Game 4 Prediction: Stanley Cup Playoffs Odds
Bruins captain Brad Marchand once again got under the skin of Toronto Maple Leafs players, leading Boston to a 4-2 win in Game 3 on Wednesday. Will Toronto have an answer for the B’s pest in Game 4 on Saturday?
Game 4 opened as a pick’em on the NHL odds, with the total set at 6.0.
Bruins vs. Maple Leafs NHL Betting Odds
Boston has absolutely dominated this head-to-head series, winning nine of the last 10 matchups. Offence has been a big issue for Toronto as they have been held to two goals or less in eight of those 10 games and they have never scored more than three goals in that time.
The Bruins have moved to heavy -275 favourites to win the series after entering Game 3 at -115. The Leafs dropped from -105 on the series line to +225. For what it’s worth, that’s solid value for a team only trailing by one game. Oddsmakers have no faith in Toronto, however, as the favoured exact series result is a Boston win in five games at +250. Auston Matthews, who scored the winning goal in Game 2, is +400 to lead the series in goal scoring.
Boston Bruins
Marchand did what Marchand does best in Game 3 and that’s cause havoc while scoring goals. The Bruins captain broke a 2-2 tie in the third period and finished with two goals and an assist. Trent Frederic and Jake DeBrusk had the other goals for Boston and Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves in net. Marchand has six points in the series (2G, 4A) while causing chaos and drawing penalties. Marchand’s ability to get under his opponents’ skin has been valuable as Boston has capitalized on five of 10 power play opportunities in the series.
There’s some question about what the Bruins will do in net in Game 4. Boston has rotated evenly between Swayman and Linus Ullmark, who had similar stats in the regular season, all year, but Swayman in particular has had success against Toronto. Swayman has won six straight starts against the Leafs, including five this season. Despite losing Game 2, Ullmark looked sharp and turned aside 31 of 34 shots, so the Bruins should feel comfortable with whoever starts in net on Saturday.
Toronto Maple Leafs
It was another disappointing result for the Leafs on Wednesday as the team looked frustrated and outmatched. Matthew Knies opened the scoring and Tyler Bertuzzi added a goal in the second period, but special teams issues continued to plague Toronto. The Leafs went 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 3 and they are 1-for-11 with the man advantage in the series. It’s a sharp contrast to the regular season when Toronto had the seventh-best power play in the NHL, converting on 24 per cent of opportunities. Ilya Samsonov stopped 30 shots on Wednesday, bringing his save percentage in the series to .895.
The mystery surrounding the Leafs continues to be the absence of winger William Nylander, who was second on Toronto with 98 points (40G, 58A) in the regular season. Nylander played all 82 regular season games, but he has missed all three games of the series. There’s been no announcement on what issue he’s dealing with, but it’s believed to be migraine problems. Nylander was a full participant at practice on Friday, skating on a line with Calle Jarnkrok and Pontus Holmberg, so there’s a good chance he’ll return in Game 4.
BOS
TOR