The Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs meet Tuesday in NHL action from the Scotiabank Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Maple Leafs vs Senators Prediction.
Series Recap
The Toronto Maple Leafs come into this game looking to build on their series-opening 6-2 win over the Senators in game one. Oliver Ekman-Larsson opened the scoring for Toronto 7:09 into the game before Mitch Marner doubled Toronto’s lead just over five minutes later. Drake Batherson got Ottawa on the board with less than four minutes to go in the opening frame, but John Tavares and William Nylander would push the lead to 4-1 with a pair of power play goals 3:12 apart in the second period. Ridly Greig would bring Ottawa back to 4-2 just four minutes into the third but Morgan Rielly would restore Toronto’s three-goal lead just 45 seconds later. Matthew Knies made it 6-2 with less than seven minutes to go, and it was a lead that the Maple Leafs would hold on to until the final horn.
Senators Looking To Avoid Going Home Down 0-2
Tim Stutzle leads the Senators with 79 points including 24 goals and 55 assists while Brady Tkachuk has 55 points with a team-high 29 goals and 26 assists. Drake Batherson has 68 points with 26 goals and 42 assists and Claude Giroux has 15 goals and 35 assists while Jake Sanderson also has 57 points with 11 goals and 46 assists so far this season. Linus Ullmark is 25-14-3 with a 2.72 GAA and a .910 save percentage in goal for Ottawa so far this year while Mads Sogaard is 1-1 with a 5.24 GAA and a .800 save percentage and Anton Forsberg is 11-12-3 with a 2.72 GAA and a .901 save percentage as well this season. Leevi Merilainen has also gone 8-3-1 with a 1.99 GAA and a .925 save percentage this season.
Why the Ottawa Senators will win
- The Senators have won five of their last six games as underdogs against the Maple Leafs.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in seven of the last eight games between the Senators and Maple Leafs.
- The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Ottawa Senators Player Prop Facts
- Drake Batherson has scored at least one goal in each of the Senators’ last four night games.
- Tim Stutzle has recorded at least one assist in seven of the Senators’ last eight games as road underdogs.
- Drake Batherson has recorded at least one point in each of the Senators’ last eight games.
- Tim Stutzle has scored two goals against the Maple Leafs this season – equal-most against any opponent.
Maple Leafs Trying To Take Commanding Series Edge
Mitch Marner has a team-high 102 points with 27 goals and a team-high 75 assists while William Nylander has 84 points with a team-high 45 goals. John Tavares has 74 points with 38 goals and 36 assists and Auston Matthews has 78 points with 33 goals and 45 assists. Matthew Knies has 58 points with 29 goals while Morgan Rielly has 41 points with 7 goals and 34 assists as well on the year. Anthony Stolarz has gone 21-8-3 on the year in goal for Toronto with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage while Joseph Woll is 27-14-1 with a 2.73 GAA and a .909 save percentage and Dennis Hildeby has a 3-3 record, a 3.33 GAA and an .878 save percentage.
Why the Toronto Maple Leafs will win
- The Maple Leafs have won each of their last eight games at Scotiabank Arena.
- The Senators have lost each of their last five games at Scotiabank Arena following a road loss.
- The Senators have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven road games following a road loss.
- The home team has covered the puck line in seven of the Senators’ last nine games.
Toronto Maple Leafs Player Prop Facts
- Mitch Marner has scored a goal in four of the Maple Leafs’ last five games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Auston Matthews has recorded at least one assist in each of the Maple Leafs’ last six Game 2s of a playoff series.
- Max Pacioretty has recorded a point in each of his last seven home appearances against the Senators.
- William Nylander ranks T1st in the league for multi-goal games (10) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Twelve of the Maple Leafs’ last 13 home night games following a home win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Senators’ last six games have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Six of the last seven night games between teams from the same division have gone OVER the total goals line.
Maple Leafs vs Senators Prediction
I’m on Toronto in this one. I get the case to be made for the Senators, who won five straight against Toronto before the game one loss, and these rivalry games are always tight. Add in the desire to not go down 0-2 in the series, and the plus money is tempting. The thing is, that’s the most confident I’ve seen the Leafs in playoff hockey in a long, long time, and the Senators just looked like Mike Tyson when he was crawling on the mat looking for his mouthpiece. I think Toronto feeds off of the home ice energy again and gets the win at home here. Give me Toronto.