Toronto Maple Leafs return home with chance to close out series versus Ottawa Senators in Game 5 on Tuesday
Tuesday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a loaded slate of thrilling matchups for the Stanley Cup playoffs. The game that sticks out is the Battle of Ontario between the Maple Leafs and Senators with Toronto looking to advance to the second round with a win.
The Buds look to close out the series and improve on a 1-11 record in closeout games during the Auston Matthews era. Ottawa looks to stave off elimination and keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive.
For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 29-12 record on our last 41 picks, including perfect record during Game 1 and 4 of the series.
All betting lines are from FanDuel Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
More NHL: Battle of Ontario Betting Guide: Best Bets, Strategies and Futures for Maple Leafs versus Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators Best Bets:
- Leafs ML (-162)
- Over 5.5 goals (-114)
- Leafs Score First (-145)
- John Tavares Over 0.5 points (-174)
- Brady Tkachuk Over 0.5 points (-132)
- Tim Stutzle Under 0.5 points (+126)
Offence has been red hot lately with Toronto's big four of Mitch Marner, William Nylander, John Tavares and Auston Matthews recording points in every game of the series except for Game 3 in Tavares' case.
Ottawa has simply not had an answer for Toronto's playmakers with nine goals allowed through the first two games that were played in Toronto.
More NHL: Stars' Hintz, Oilers' Nugent-Hopkins Headline Playoff Players Due for Bounce Back Performances
For Game 5, the Maple Leafs return home with a second-round bid on their mind. If they can manage to continue their success at home and keep doing what is making them successful, then they should find a favourable result on Tuesday.
Game 4 of the series will likely appear as an outlier as offence was finally generated from Ottawa winger Tim Stutzle, who scored his first goal of the series and marked his first real point of the series after recording a second assist on a Senators goal back in Game 2.
I expect the Maple Leafs to put the clamps on the German winger once again and play a solid defensive game after getting out to an early lead.
The Buds have scored six first period goals this series and should get another one here as Senators netminder Linus Ullmark has struggled to stop the bleeding with 15 goals allowed through four games.
The member of Toronto's big four with the best value is Tavares, who has continued his hot streak into the postseason with three goals. He has been playing alongside Nylander, who has also been hot and should set up for another offensive night for the line.
Senators' captain Brady Tkachuk has felt the pressure of the playoffs and has responded well with points in three straight games and is surprisingly still listed at a decent value to get on the board.
Ottawa won't go down quietly and Tkachuk will certainly be a factor for the Senators in this one. Due to Stutzle's struggles in the series, he's been pulled off Tkachuk's line and it hasn't slowed the Arizona native down.
More NHL: Bolts, Golden Knights Present Last Call For Massive Betting Values