Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins Series Odds
Boston Bruins (-160)
Toronto Maple Leafs (+140)
The best first-round matchup in the 2018 NHL Playoffs is a battle between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Because Boston couldn’t handle a lame-duck Florida team at home on April 8 to end the regular season, the Bruins draw the Leafs instead of the much easier New Jersey Devils. That seemingly innocuous loss could be the death blow for the Bruins but either way this series is going to be must-see TV.
Many spent the season believing that the Bruins were the best team in the NHL or, at the very least, in the top three. There was not as much chatter about Mike Babcock’s bunch, as the Maple Leafs scored the second-most goals in the Eastern Conference and tied for the second-most in the NHL, and the Maple Leafs finished third in goals allowed this season in the Eastern Conference.
Boston Bruins (-160)
Even though the gap doesn’t seem to be that wide between these teams, the betting market disagrees. This may look like a big line on the surface, but the Bruins excel with the possession metrics and had three 30-goal scorers this season. Patrice Bergeron did it in just 64 games and could very well be the best player in this series. The loss of Brandon Carlo was unfortunate, but Charlie McAvoy returned to action during the final week, so Boston is about as healthy as they have been for a while now. Boston, unlike a lot of NHL teams, isn’t overly reliant on one defenseman or one defense pair to stop the opposition. Zdeno Chara, who has lost a step, but remains a huge presence, plays 20+ minutes, along with Torey Krug and McAvoy. Kevan Miller is close to 20 minutes per game as well.
Toronto Maple Leafs (+140)
You have to go back to 2004 to find the last time the Maple Leafs advanced past the first round. To be fair, Toronto only has two postseason appearances since then. Last year’s experience could prove invaluable this season. The heavily-favored Washington Capitals needed six games to get rid of Toronto. All six games were decided by one goal and five of the six went to overtime. Toronto eclipsed 100 points in the regular season for the first time since 2004 and did a lot of damage on the power play. Toronto had the league’s second-best power play, which led to the third-ranked offense with just shy of 3.3 goals per game.
Pick & Prediction (Boston in 6 games)
Toronto should make this a series because of the top-end talent of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, but the Maple Leafs have to contend with a very good playoff goaltender in Tuukka Rask and will probably be chasing the puck a lot in this series. Toronto’s defensemen are not great, which is a weakness that a team like Boston can exploit.
Expect another round of close games, much like the Washington series, because Mike Babcock will concoct a great game plan and likely find a way to close the gaps between the teams, but the Bruins should prevail, after all 6 games are said and done.
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