The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Wednesday in NHL action from Benchmark International Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning prediction.
Toronto Maple Leafs Recap
The Toronto Maple Leafs come into this game looking to add on to their 5-2 win over Edmonton last time out to sit at 27-21-9 this season. After this game, Toronto will head on the road again for a game against the Florida Panthers.
Maple Leafs Win 3 In A Row
William Nylander leads the Maple Leafs with 52 points on 18 goals and a team-high 34 assists while John Tavares has 47 points with 20 goals and 27 assists and Matthew Knies has 46 points with 14 goals and 32 assists. Auston Matthews has 48 points with 26 goals and 22 assists and Morgan Rielly has 31 points with 24 assists. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has 34 points with 26 assists. Anthony Stolarz has gone 7-7-1 with a 3.55 GAA and an .882 save percentage in goal for the Maple Leafs while Joseph Woll is 13-7-4 with a 2.92 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Dennis Hildeby is also 5-6-4 with a 2.90 GAA and a .912 save percentage this season.
Why the Toronto Maple Leafs will win
- The Maple Leafs have won eight of their last 10 games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Lightning have lost three of their last four Wednesday games as home favorites.
- The Maple Leafs have covered the puck line in nine of their last 10 games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Toronto Maple Leafs Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Knies has scored at least one goal in four of the Maple Leafs’ last five games against the Lightning.
- John Tavares has recorded at least one assist in each of the Maple Leafs’ last four games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to add on to their 6-1 win over Florida last time out to sit at 37-14-4 this season. After this game, Tampa Bay will head on the road for a game against Carolina.
Lightning Win 5 In A Row
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 91 points including 29 goals and 62 assists while Brandon Hagel has 54 points with 27 goals and 27 assists and Jake Guentzel has 60 points with 26 goals and 34 assists. Anthony Cirelli has 35 points with 15 goals and 20 assists. Darren Raddysh has also added 52 points with 17 goals and 35 assists as well on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 27-7-3 with a 2.11 GAA and a .920 save percentage while Jonas Johansson is 10-7-1 with a 2.92 GAA and an .890 save percentage this season.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The Lightning have won each of their last 10 home games.
- The Maple Leafs have lost five of their last six road games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight games against the Maple Leafs following a home win.
- The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last three games against opponents on a winning streak.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Darren Raddysh has scored a goal in five of the Lightning’s last six games.
- Victor Hedman has recorded at least one assist in each of his last eight Wednesday home appearances.
- Nikita Kucherov ranks T1st in the league for Assists (62) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Fourteen of the Lightning’s last 15 night games against Atlantic Division opponents at Benchmark International Arena have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the last eight games between two teams from the Atlantic Division have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Maple Leafs’ last eight games against the Lightning following a road win have gone OVER the total goals line.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction
I’m on Toronto here. Tampa Bay’s been playing some really good hockey going into the olympic break and are looking like the Lightning of the last couple of years that have been dominant in the Atlantic division, but now that we’re back from the break, Toronto needs every game like air right now, as missing the playoffs would be a huge disappointment for the Leafs and this is a rival that Toronto’s had the number of for the last little while. I’ll roll with Toronto here.