Maple Leafs vs. Bruins Game 2 Prediction: NHL Playoffs Betting Odds
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Andrew Rogers
It’s hard to figure out which was more surprising: That the Toronto Maple Leafs made it look easy in a Game 1 win over the Boston Bruins, or that their top playmaker was the goal-scoring hero. Whatever the case, the Leafs find themselves in prime position to go back to Toronto with a two-game lead in their best-of-seven series with the Bruins as the teams face off Saturday at TD Garden. Toronto rallied from an early deficit to escape with a 4-1 win in the opener.
Maple Leafs vs Bruins Betting Analysis
There’s a lot to like about taking the Bruins to bounce back – they’ve still won six of their past eight home games vs. the Maple Leafs, and have won 40 of their past 57 games after scoring two or fewer goals last time out. Toronto has also dropped each of its previous six games coming off a victory, surrendering four or more goals in four of those defeats. A slight majority (60 percent) of Sports Interaction bettors favour the Bruins in Game 2.
The teams finished under the total in Game 1 thanks in large part to a surprisingly stout effort from Toronto’s defence and goaltending. That extends the Maple Leafs’ under run to 5-1 in the previous six games overall, and 5-2 in their past seven away from Scotiabank Arena. The Bruins, on the other hand, have gone a sizzling 7-2 O/U in their last seven vs. the Eastern Conference and 7-3 O/U in their past 10 contests overall.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Mitch Marner’s two-goal performance was the talk of Maple Leafs fans following a dominant series-opening victory, and underlines just how dangerous this team can be on the offensive end. While John Tavares and Auston Matthews get the bulk of the attention after combining for 84 regular-season goals, five other skaters – Marner among them – reached the 20-goal plateau while Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau added 16 apiece.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins were unlucky to convert just once despite firing 38 shots on goal in Game 1 – but their lack of aggressiveness with the puck might have contributed to their undoing. The Maple Leafs finished with 19 takeaways in the victory, while Boston had just seven. They’ll also need a better showing from netminder Tuukka Rask, who surrendered three goals on 32 shots and has been victimized 18 times over his previous five games.
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