NHL weekly betting preview: Leafs back at it in Boston

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Round 2 between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs this season goes Tuesday night.

The rivalry highlights a delicious midweek slate that includes a Central Division clash and a meeting between a pair of Eastern Conference favorites in the Sunshine State.

Game betting

Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues (Monday)

The Avalanche will look at this game as a passing of the torch. The Western Conference leaders are white-hot as they visit last season's champions, with the Blues coming off consecutive home losses. However, it's the third game in four nights for Colorado, which has lost seven of its last eight trips to St. Louis. The Blues haven't dropped three successive home games since February 2013.

Ottawa Senators at Dallas Stars (Monday)

Dallas isn't off to the start it hoped for, but there's no better slump-buster than the Senators, right? Well, this is a tough spot for the Stars, who return home from a back-to-back in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The Stars are 4-11 over the last two seasons when playing their third game in four nights. They're also 0-3 at home this season with just four goals. At +190, the Senators are live 'dogs.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Tuesday)

Revenge will be on the Bruins' minds as they welcome the Leafs to TD Garden after losing to Toronto in overtime Saturday. The Leafs will likely start Michael Hutchinson in what will be their second game of a back-to-back after hosting Columbus. Toronto got run over in two trips to the Garden during the 2018-19 regular season, and it's hard to see the Leafs beating a rested Boston team under these circumstances.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning (Wednesday)

The Lightning will have had three days off to think about their 6-2 home loss to the Avalanche when they host a Penguins team that plays at Florida the night before. Tampa has won 14 of its last 16 home games on three days' rest. Only once last season did the Lightning lose two in a row at home, falling 1-0 to the Blues in overtime. They've consistently bounced back from losses under Jon Cooper and have won all three of their home games against the Penguins over the last two seasons. The chalk could be a bit high, but this is a great spot to back the Bolts.

Minnesota Wild at Nashville Predators (Thursday)

The beginning of Minnesota's schedule has been brutal, with 13 of the team's first 18 games away from home. The Wild are 1-5 on the road this season, lost all five of those games by two or more goals, and recorded their lone away win against the Senators. They last won in Nashville in 2016 and have scored just nine goals in their visits since. Play the Predators on the puck line.

Game props

Anaheim Ducks at Nashville Predators (Tuesday)

Anaheim has enjoyed a strong start, but it would be a whole lot better if the Ducks could find their scoring touch. They have been held to two or fewer goals in five of their nine games and scored just eight times in four contests on the road. Excluding the playoffs, the Ducks have been held under 2.5 goals in each of their last six trips to Nashville.

Vegas Golden Knights at Chicago Blackhawks (Tuesday)

The Golden Knights have scored at least four goals in each of their six all-time meetings with the Blackhawks. Across three trips to Chicago, they've put up 17 goals. Back Vegas' team total over 3.5. The first-period over 1.5 is also worth a play despite the likely high juice - every time these teams have played each other, the over 1.5 has hit in the opening 20 minutes.

San Jose Sharks at Montreal Canadiens (Thursday)

Heading into the week, the Canadiens (7-2, 77.8%) and Sharks (6-2, 75%) are two of the five most profitable teams when it comes to the first-period over. They meet Thursday in Montreal, where the over 1.5 in the opening frame looks tasty.

Player props

Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins (Tuesday)

We hit with David Pastrnak scoring in the game in Toronto on Saturday night. Let's back him to do so again in Boston. He simply can't help himself against the Leafs.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning (Wednesday)

With the Penguins thin down the middle and Tristan Jarry likely to start in net, Lightning center Brayden Point is a good candidate to score. Point has three goals in five games so far and put up three goals in three contests against the Pens last season.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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