The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to avenge last spring’s first-round playoff series loss to Boston when they host the Bruins on Saturday in a game that opened as a pick’em on the NHL betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Maple Leafs’ playoff struggles against Boston continued with a Game 7 loss, extending a stretch of futility that has seen Toronto fall to defeat in eight of 12 overall meetings with its Atlantic Division rival going into Saturday night’s matchup at Scotiabank Arena.
That run includes defeats in three of four overall meetings on home ice. However, the Maple Leafs have largely dominated Boston in home games during the regular season, posting wins in five of six meetings since the start of the 2016/17 NHL campaign. Toronto has effectively shut down the Bruins offence during that stretch, surrendering just 2.17 goals per game.
However, the Maple Leafs have struggled to produce consistent results on home ice in the early going of this season, falling to defeat in three of their past four outings at Scotiabank Arena. The club will also be without captain John Tavares, who is expected to be sidelined for two weeks after suffering a broken finger earlier this week.
The Bruins arrive in Toronto after dropping a 4-3 shootout decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning as a -115 home wager on Thursday night. That loss snapped a two-game win streak, but the Bruins have earned at least a point in six of seven games this season, and have now eclipsed Toronto on the odds to win the Atlantic Division as +200 second favourites.
Elsewhere on Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks aim for a fifth straight win as they visit the struggling but favoured New Jersey Devils, while the Montreal Canadiens look to record consecutive wins for the first time this season as they visit the St. Louis Blues as +125 underdogs at sports betting sites.
As well, the Ottawa Senators travel to the desert in search of their first road win of the season, taking on the Arizona Coyotes as +180 underdogs, while Saturday’s late game has the Calgary Flames visiting the Los Angeles Kings as -150 favourites.
The Canucks have outscored opponents by a wide 20-8 margin during their early-season surge, capped by their first road win of the campaign, Thursday night’s 4-3 victory in St. Louis as +170 underdogs. The Devils welcome Vancouver after recording their first win of the season, a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers as a -125 bet, and are undefeated in their last five home dates with the Canucks according to the OddsShark NHL Database.
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