At the onset of the week, gamblers had a simple question about the Tampa Bay Lightning. “How do they recover from this?” In games three and four on home ice, the Lightning blew late leads to losing in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs. As a result, Tampa Bay trails Toronto 3-1 in their best-of-seven first round series. Toronto has emerged as a strong Stanley Cup betting odds favorite. The Maple Leafs can close the series on home ice on Thursday night. Tampa Bay is the 3-time defending Eastern Conference champion facing extinction.
2023 Stanley Cup Playoff First Round Playoff Series Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
| Date and Time: | Thursday, April 27, 2023, 7 P.M. ET. |
|---|---|
| Location: | Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON. |
| TV Coverage: | TBS |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | +1½ (-210) | 6½ (-110) | +135 |  |
| Maple Leafs | -1½ (+175) | 6½ (-110) | -155 | |
| ||||
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs Series Schedule
Maple Leafs lead series, 3-1
- Game 1: Lightning 7, Maple Leafs 3
- Game 2: Maple Leafs, 7, Lightning 2
- Game 3: Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3 (OT)
- Game 4: Maple Leafs 5, Lightning 4 (OT)
- Thu., April 27: Lightning at Maple Leafs, 7 p.m. ET; TBS
- *Sat., April 29: Maple Leafs at Lightning, TBD
- *Mon., May 1: Lightning at Maple Leafs, TBD
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs SBG Odds Overview
On the whole, the Lightning will have a difficult time recovering from their blown leads at home. Tampa Bay should be up 3-1 in this online betting series. Instead, the opposite is the case. The gamblers are stunned that the Lightning blew those leads with the best goalie in hockey, Andre Vasilievskiy.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Overview
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished 46-30-6 straight up and 40-33-9 over/under the total. Late on, Tampa Bay has covered two out of their last nine games. While the Lightning have gone over the total in eight of its previous nine matchups.
Tampa Bay has NHL rankings of 8th for goals scored and 3rd for power play efficiency. In comparison on defense, the Lightning have NHL rankings of 15th for goals against and 15th for penalty killing.
First among Tampa Bay scorers is Nikita Kucherov, with one goal, five assists, six points, and a +0. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has a .856 save percentage and 4.22 goals-against average. His record is 1-3 with no shutouts.
Toronto Maple Leafs Team Overview
The Toronto Maple Leafs finished 50-21-11 straight up and 36-42-4 over/under the total. Late on, Toronto has covered seven out of their last eight games. While the Maple Leafs have gone over the total in five of its previous six matchups.
Toronto has NHL rankings of 9th for goals scored and 2nd for power play efficiency. In comparison, on defense, the Maple Leafs have NHL rankings of 7th for goals against and 12th for penalty killing.
First among Toronto scorers is Mitchell Marner with two goals, eight assists, 10 points, and a +6. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov has a .876 save percentage and 3.72 goals-against average. His record is 3-1 no four shutouts.
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs SBG Free Picks
The conventional wisdom is that Toronto will roll with the NHL Playoff betting odds against a demoralized Tampa Bay team. But the Lightning has won three consecutive Eastern Conference championships. And they have a lot of pride. Taking Tampa Bay is a strong contrarian bet at a good price. Following their three wins at Tampa Bay, Too much casual sector money is on the Leafs.
Lightning vs. Maple Leafs SBG Best Bet: Tampa Bay Lightning