Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction:
Week 2 of the NHL season is in the books, and the Winnipeg Jets are left as the only NHL team without a loss. I am not aware of any legal or offshore betting sites that post odds on the last unbeaten team, but I would venture a guess that the Jets would have been somewhere in the 25/1 range. Winnipeg opened the season with a 6-0 blasting of the Edmonton Oilers. They followed that up with wins over the Blackhawks, Wild, Sharks and Penguins. The Jets’ first five opponents have a combined 10 wins in 30 games to start the season. Up next for the Jets are games against the Blues and Kraken. Winnipeg is 9-1 in their last 10 games versus St. Louis and have a 7-2 record in their last nine against Seattle. They end the week against a Calgary Flames team that they have dropped three of the last four meetings. Let’s take a look at tonight’s NHL predictions:
Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs (-142; 6.5)
7:30 p.m. ET
With all 32 teams in action tomorrow, the NHL is keeping it very light tonight. Tampa’s visit to Toronto is the only game on the schedule. There is no love lost when these two teams meet. The sting is still there for the Lightning players who were on the roster when the Maple Leafs won a playoff round for the first time in 11 years, knocking out Tampa in six games.
The visiting Lightning are off to a 3-1 start thanks to Nikita Kucherov, who has been a goal-scoring machine. Last season’s points leader scored seven of Tampa’s 16 goals in their four games. One trend that I have continued to push for the Lightning is that if you are wagering on them to win a game, make sure you play their team total Over 3.5 goals. Tampa has scored four goals in all three of their wins. That continues the trends of the previous two seasons when they cashed the Over 3.5 goals in 76 of their 91 victories.
The Maple Leafs are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Rangers on Saturday, but if you are not aware, the final two Rangers goals were empty-net markers in the final minute. Auston Matthews had Toronto’s only goal and has now scored in back-to-back games. In the Maple Leafs’ two losses, they have scored a combined one goal. In their three wins, they have scored a combined 14 goals, scoring four or more goals in each of the games.
High-scoring games between these two teams have been the norm lately. Eight of the last 10 games have had a combined seven goals or more. Early indications show money on the Over 6.5 goals, with 44% of the bets and 63% of the money on the Over.
NHL Predictions: Lightning/Maple Leafs Over 6.5 (-110) – 1 unit
Oliver Ekman-Larsson over 2.5 SOG (+150) – 1 unit
Nikita Kucherov Over 3.5 SOG (-135) – ½ unit
Auston Matthews Over 4.5 SOG (-110) – ½ unit
