The Toronto Maple Leafs hope to put the Tampa Bay Lightning on the ropes tonight and earn a 3-1 series lead. The Maple Leafs earned a tough win in Tampa Bay, defeating the Lightning 5-2 in Game 2. This is where you’ll find everything, including team win odds, the over/under, and point spreads.
Tampa Bay Lightning (-105) vs Toronto Maple Leafs (-115)
TOR: 2-1, 4.33 GF/GP, 2.33 GA/GP
TBL: 1-2, 2.33 GF/GP, 4.33 GA/GP
The Maple Leafs are in familiar territory heading into Game 3, owning a 2-1 series lead. In two of their last three playoff runs, Toronto won two of the opening round’s first three games. They’re capable of pushing any opposing team to the brink, but the problem is taking that next step to overcome their demons. They’ll need Jack Campbell to be at his best throughout and ignore Jon Cooper’s comments regarding his goals-against average. He owns the league’s 5th best save percentage in this year’s postseason with a .924 SV%.
The Lightning are in a tough spot, but the one promising detail is Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s continued efforts in bouncing back after a playoff loss. His win in Game 2 bumped him to 15-0 after surrendering a game, and he was excellent in the late stages of the game when Toronto pushed to tie it up. Tampa will need more of that and less of his 16th-best .890 SV% going forward, or Tampa Bay may be responsible for Toronto’s first series win since 2004.
Point Spread
Tampa Bay – Win By More Than 1 Goal (-1.5, +200)
If the Lightning are looking for some motivation, Game 4 provides plenty of it. In front of their home crowd, they can’t risk going back to Toronto down 3-1. Sure, the Maple Leafs have squandered 3-1 series leads in the past, but this is a new year and a hungrier Toronto squad. The Tampa Bay crowd is as loud as ever, and they need to feed off this to tie the series up and put doubt in the minds of their opponents.
While Toronto has all the momentum heading into Game 4 tonight, you can expect Tampa Bay to be flying out the gates and get big games out of their lineup. Expecting a Tampa Bay win tonight, considering Vasilevskiy’s track record is the best way to go, and by more than one goal seems plausible. They did it in Game 2 on the road, and odds are they’ll head back to Toronto with the series tied at two.
Total Points
Total Goals Scored – Over 6.5 (-105)
If there’s one thing that has lived up to the hype of this first-round series, it’s the sheer amount of goals coming from both teams. Toronto’s stars are gelling three games in, and Tampa Bay is scoring by committee, getting production from all four lines. Their stars have been quiet so far, but once they get some points on the board, this series could get out of hand.
Taking the over tonight is an easy decision, as both clubs are scoring at a rapid pace. Jon Cooper mentioned that if they can keep getting a 3.50 GAA out of Campbell, they’ll be just fine. He’s absolutely right, but if Toronto can continue playing the .890 SV% Vasilevskiy, Toronto can easily outscore their way out of any problem. Game 4 promises to be yet another high-scoring affair.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM.
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