Ottawa Senators vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Game 2 Prediction, NHL Odds
Game 1 between the Sens and Leafs was a bit of a letdown, with Toronto largely controlling the play in a 6-2 victory on Sunday night. Can Ottawa respond on Tuesday?
The Maple Leafs are -165 favourites to win Game 2 on the NHL odds, with the total pegged at 5.5.
Senators vs. Maple Leafs NHL Betting Odds
Toronto’s Game 1 victory snapped a five-game losing streak in head-to-head action against the Senators. The Leafs now have a shot at taking a 2-0 lead in a playoff series for the first time since they faced the New York Islanders in the opening round of the 2002 postseason.
Toronto has improved to +750 to win the Stanley Cup on the NHL futures board, while Ottawa is at +6600. There’s also been a fairly sizeable shift on the series odds, with the Maple Leafs going from -200 to -425. In turn, the Senators have dropped from +165 series underdogs to +320.
If player props are more your thing, you can get William Nylander at +175 to score two or more goals in any individual game of the series. Nylander, who had three goals in four playoff games last year, has easily been Toronto’s most consistent playoff performers in recent years and he’s coming off a regular season in which he led the Leafs with a career-high 45 goals.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa’s young core of players lacks playoff experience and you could really see it on Sunday. The Sens took some bad penalties that led the three power play goals for Toronto. Drake Batherson and Ridly Greig were the only Ottawa players to find the back of the net. Greig didn’t practice with the team on Tuesday, but he’s expected to play Game 2. Veteran defenceman Travis Hamonic also looks like he’ll play Game 2 after being a healthy scratch in Game 1.
Linus Ullmark was far from his best on Sunday, allowing all six goals on 24 shots faced. Ullmark will get the start again in Game 2, but his inconsistency this season is concerning. The former Vezina Trophy winner is one of the few Senators players with playoff experience, although he hasn’t exactly been lights out. In 10 career playoff starts, Ullmark is 3-7 with a 3.82 goals-against average and .877 save percentage.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Game 1 went about as well as Toronto could have hoped for. The so-called Core Four of Mitch Marner (1G, 2A), William Nylander (1G, 1A), John Tavares (1G, 1A) and Auston Matthews (2A) each finished with two-point nights to silence some of the doubts about their performance in the playoffs. Special teams and discipline made the difference in the game. The Leafs scored on three of six power play opportunities and they killed off both minor penalties they took.
Anthony Stolarz looked sharp in Game 1 as he turned aside 31 of 33 shots faced. There was a little bit of panic in Leafs Nation when Stolarz didn’t practice with the team on Monday, although he was back in the net on Tuesday after what was described as a rest day. The 31-year-old is riding a nine-game win streak that dates back to March 20. During that stretch, he’s recorded a 1.44 GAA, .949 SV and three shutouts.
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