The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs meet Thursday in Game 6 East First Round NHL Playoffs action at the Scotiabank Arena. Here’s a Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins Prediction.
Boston Bruins Betting Preview
The Boston Bruins will advance to the second round of the playoffs for the fifth time in the last 7 years with a victory here. The Boston Bruins are averaging 3 goals per game and are scoring on 42.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Jake DeBrusk leads Boston with 3 goals, Brad Marchand has 5 assists and David Pastrnak has 15 shots on goal. Defensively, the Boston Bruins are allowing 1.8 goals per game and are killing 94.1 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jeremy Swayman has allowed 6 goals on 124 shots faced, while Linus Ullmark has give up 3 goals on 34 shots.
Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Preview
The Toronto Maple Leafs need a win to save their season and force a game 7 on Saturday. The Toronto Maple Leafs are averaging 1.8 goals per game and are scoring on 5.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Matthew Knies leads Toronto with 2 goals, Max Domi has 3 assists and John Tavares has 18 shots on goal. Defensively, the Toronto Maple Leafs are allowing 3 goals per game and are killing 57.1 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Ilya Samsonov has allowed 12 goals on 103 shots faced, while Joesph Woll has given up 1 goal on 33 shots.
Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs Injury Report
Andrew Peeke remains out for Boston with a finger injury. Derek Forbort is questionable with a lower body injury. Bobby McMann continues to miss time for Toronto with a lower body injury. The real news is the status of Auston Matthews, who missed game 5 with an illness. It would be nice for Toronto to have Matthews, the guy who led the NHL in goals and was sixth in points.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins Prediction
It’s hard not to lean toward the Boston Bruins in game 6. The Bruins have won 8 of the last 10 games against the Maple Leafs, and they’re 25-9-9 on the road this season. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been limited offensively in this series, and the power play defense has been rough to say the least. We also need to know the status of Auston Matthews, as not having him is a big deal for obvious reasons. With all that said, I’ll lean toward the Maple Leafs at home. Again, everything points toward the Bruins, but at some point playoff success has to go in favor of the Maple Leafs. Maybe that game 5 win in overtime is the turning point toward the Maple Leafs putting up more of a fight. Give me the Maple Leafs at home in this pick em spot.