Lightning vs. Maple Leafs Prediction
Can the Maple Leafs pull off the upset tonight when they host the Lightning at 7:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Lightning are -134 money line favorites versus the Maple Leafs, who have odds of +114 to pull off the upset tonight at home. As for the total, the number currently sits at 5.5 goals.
The Lightning enter play having won four of their last five games and are 6-2 in their last eight road contests. They’re also a perfect 5-0 in their last five games versus Atlantic Division opponents, are 4-0 in their last four games versus Eastern Conference foes and are 4-1 in their last five games after allowing two goals or less in their previous game.
On the other side, the Maple Leafs have won six of eight when their opponent allows two goals or less in their previous game but are just 19-41 in their last 60 games versus an opponent with a winning percentage above .600. They’re also just 13-38 in their last 51 games versus the Atlantic and have dropped four of their last five home games.
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OUR PREDICTION: The Maple Leafs enter play 1-1-2 but could easily have a winning record if they could simply close games. They have four one-goal losses in five games to start the season and two of those defeats came in overtime with another in a shootout. They blew a 4-1 lead in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Jets in Winnipeg and choked away a 4-2 lead with 2:28 left in regulation versus the Blackhawks in Chicago, too. Point is, this is a competitive team despite their record and they’ve owned the Lightning at home, winning seven of 10 meetings versus Tampa Bay in Toronto.
TUESDAY NHL PREDICTION: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS +114
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