Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, NHL Odds
The playoff teams are set in the Eastern Conference and for the most part, so is the positioning. Two teams that have punched their ticket to the postseason meet Thursday in Tampa Bay with the Lighting hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto, who sits second in the Atlantic Division, has won four straight games, including a 5-2 home win against Philadelphia on Tuesday. Tampa was also last in action on Tuesday, falling 4-3 at home to Detroit.
The Lightning are slim -120 favourites to win on the NHL odds, with a total of 7.0.
Maple Leafs vs. Lightning NHL Betting Odds
This is it for the regular season series, although the two teams could end up meeting at some point in the playoffs. Toronto has won two of three previous games this year, including a 6-2 victory in Tampa Bay on April 4. Almost 75 per cent of the betting public is backing the Leafs for another win on Thursday, while 70 per cent of action is taking the Over. The last two games between these teams have hit the Over.
Toronto is having success and come into Thursday with wins in 11 of their last 13 games. They’re 35-42 against the spread this season, including 17-21 ATS on the road. The total has gone Over in the Maple Leafs’ last six road games and eight of their last 12 overall.
The Lightning seem more concerned with getting to the playoffs healthy than winning regular season games as they’ve dropped six of their last nine contests. They’re 34-42 ATS overall, including 15-23 ATS at home. This is another high scoring team, with Tampa hitting the Over in eight of their last 11 games overall and seven of their last nine at home.
Toronto Maple Leafs
With Auston Matthews out of the lineup due to an undisclosed injury, William Nylander stepped up on Tuesday, scoring his career-high 32nd goal of the season. Nylander has had an up and down year and went goalless for eight games in late January until the middle of February. Those struggles now seem behind the Swedish sniper as he’s recorded eight points (4G, 4A) over his last five games. Timothy Liljegren, Jason Spezza, David Kampf and Ilya Mikheyev also scored on Tuesday, while Jack Campbell made 37 saves. It was the first time Campbell has posted a save percentage above .930 in back-to-back starts since Jan. 1. Campbell, who has a 2.69 goals-against average and .913 SV for the year, could be in line for a third consecutive start on Thursday. If not, it will be Erik Kallgren (3.02 GAA, .895 SV).
The big question mark surrounding this game is the availability of Matthews. Leading the NHL with 58 goals, Matthews has missed the last two games with a mystery injury, although it doesn’t appear to be serious. With a team-high 102 points, the American superstar has hit the century mark in points for the first time in his career and he has racked up 13 goals and 12 assists over his last 14 games. Matthews is travelling with the team on this road trip, but there’s been no word on his availability for Thursday’s game as of this writing.
Tampa Bay Lightning
With a playoff veteran team coming off back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, Tampa is clearly prioritizing health heading into the playoffs rather than positioning in the standings. That explains Tuesday’s home loss to a weak Detroit team. Ross Colton scored twice against the Red Wings, while Nikita Kucherov added a power-play marker. Steven Stamkos assisted on all three goals and currently leads the team in points (87) and goals (33). Stamkos is now tied with Martin St. Louis for the franchise record for career points at 953. Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed four goals on 31 shots. It was the Russian netminder’s first loss in 14 career games against Detroit. The Bolts trail Toronto by eight points in the Atlantic standings and they’re just one point up on Boston.
Vasilevskiy has struggled lately and dropped his last six starts, dating back to April 1. Over that span, he has posted a 3.66 GAA and .887 SV. For the year, Vasilevskiy is 35-18-5 with a 2.49 GAA and .916 SV. Tampa could either decide to let him work the kinks out of his game now, or rest him for the playoffs. If they elect to rest him, newly resigned Brian Elliott will get the start. Elliott has been a solid backup option all season, posting a 10-3-3 record with a 2.35 GAA and .915 SV.
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