NHL Odds & Game 4 2018 Playoffs Betting Preview: Boston at Toronto

The Toronto Maple Leafs looked like they were on the ropes after taking two bad beatings from the Boston Bruins in the first two games of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but then they picked up a 4-2 win in Game Three at home, and now they prepare to host Boston again on Thursday night with a chance to send the series back down to Beantown all tied up. The Maple Leafs did come out on fire to open the game but still were only able to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, that goal coming after a controversial delay of game call against Boston’s Riley Nash. Toronto’s goaltender, Frederik Andersen, just stood on his head against a Bruin onslaught the rest of the way, and the Maple Leafs held on for the win. Can the Maple Leafs bring the series level? Take a look at our NHL odds preview. 

NHL Odds & Game 4 2018 Playoffs Betting Preview: Boston at Toronto

When: Thursday, April 19, 2018, 7:00pm ET Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto TV: NBC Sports Radio: TSN 1050 AM Toronto / WBZ 98.5 FM Boston Live Stream: NBCSports.com NHL Odds: Toronto -121 / Boston -108, O/U 6

Why should you bet on the Bruins?

Boston won the first two games in this series by a combined score of 12-4 before Toronto came back to win Game Three. Yes, the Maple Leafs, spurred on by a raucous home crowd, brought enough speed and energy to keep matters in Boston’s defensive zone for most of the first period, but the Bruins’ defense was able to weather the storm for the most part. One iffy call was all that gave the Leafs that goal right before the first intermission. The Bruins were able to stay right with Toronto through two, and then when the Maple Leafs went into a defensive shell, the Bruins simply unleashed shot after shot on Andersen, making him stop 42 shots. I don’t see the Maple Leafs coming out with that same sense of desperation in Game Four, but I do see Boston’s elite defense making adjustment so that the long spring passes that led to odd-man rushes for the Leafs don’t end up shredding Boston’s defense time and time again. I also see Boston’s offense taking more command in the opening period, as they have all season long, and their tic-tac-toe passing frustrating Toronto as happened in Games One and Two. I expected Toronto to emerge in Game Three with a firestorm of energy, but that will be awfully tough to maintain in Game Four.

Why should you put your money on the Maple Leafs?

Auston Matthews did not have a single point in the first two games of this series, but his blast in the second period put Toronto up 3-2 in Game Three, a lead that they would not relinquish. Toronto’s speed ensures that they can take advantage of poor decisions with the puck, and Boston’s top line made a few of those decisions in the second and third periods — and Toronto made them pay. Frederik Andersen had the sort of night that makes legends out of goalies, and that is the sort of momentum that can build throughout a postseason. Remember Pekka Rinne from a year ago in Nashville? Andersen could be building that kind of legend now. If you like the Leafs, you see that loud arena and those youthful skaters taking it to the Bruins again. Given how well Boston has played on both ends of the ice this season, I don’t see Toronto winning this series. But could Toronto build off Game Three and send things back to Boston all square? Absolutely.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

Toronto has done nothing but produce this season, and they have a home crowd that has been starving for postseason success for decades. Game Four will feature a rocking Air Canada Centre, and Boston will get all it can handle. I predict a final score of Toronto 5, Boston 4.