Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction, NHL Odds
Toronto is a -122 favourite on the NHL odds with a total of 5.5.
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs NHL Betting Odds
Has the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup window closed? The Bolts of course won three straight Eastern Conference Finals and two Cups from 2019-22 but have fallen in the first round of the past three post-seasons. They also have been eclipsed in their own state by the Florida Panthers, who are three-time defending East champs and two-time Cup champions.
This writer thinks the Bolts might have one more run in them if guys like former Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, former Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman and ex-Vezina winner Andrei Vasilevskiy all can stay healthy and are in form once the playoffs roll around. That trio all is headed to the Hall of Fame and were big parts of those two titles but are getting up there in age.
Two of those guys are in question Monday in the first meeting of the season the teams. The Leafs to go Tampa on Feb. 25 and the Lightning are back in Toronto on March 7. In a rarity, the Maple Leafs swept all four last season, taking three by multiple goals. Mitch Marner (2G, 8A) led with 10 points but of course is now with Vegas. Matthew Knies (7G, 2A) had nine points and Auston Matthews (2G, 6A) eight. Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz each started twice in net. Kucherov was held to three assists but missed one. Vasilevskiy was 0-2-1 with a 4.85 GAA. You can bet he will remember that.
Toronto is 8-2 in the past 10 regular-season meetings overall and the over has hit in five straight.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning lost a third game in a row Saturday, 2-0 at home to the Islanders, and were without two of the stars mentioned above in Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The offence has totaled just four goals during the skid. Consider both guys day-to-day, and I’m not sure you can bet this smartly until we get clarity. Obviously, we’d like the Leafs a lot better if both sit as Kucherov leads the club with 34 points and Vasilevskiy is 11-6-2 with a 2.31 GAA and .917 SV. Backup Jonas Johansson played well Saturday but is a major downgrade at 5-4-0 with a .2.85 GAA and .896 SV. A couple of other guys were hurt in the loss but no one of major note. No. 1 blueliner Victor Hedman returned to the lineup following a 12-game absence due to injury. He played 16 minutes, 43 seconds. Monday starts a four-game trip and is the front of a back-to-back with Montreal on deck Tuesday. The over is 5-2 in the Lightning’s past seven in Toronto.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto returned home Saturday from a long trip on a three-game winning streak but knocked off by Montreal, 2-1 in a shootout. Scott Laughton’s third goal of the year, coming shorthanded, tied it at 10:28 of the third. Laughton has scored in three consecutive games to tie the longest such streak of his NHL career, now done four times. Blueliner Morgan Rielly skated in his 900th career NHL game to become the eighth player in franchise history to appear in 900 for the Maple Leafs. Dennis Hildeby got the start in net after Joseph Woll joined Anthony Stolarz on injured reserve earlier in the day and stopped 33 of 34 shots he faced. Woll will miss likely at least a week, so it should be Hildeby for the near future as the team doesn’t play in a back-to-back situation for a while. The Leafs are now 4-4 when a game has been decided in extra time. They are only 1-5 in their past six at home overall.
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