Thursday Hockey Betting – Battle for First in the Northeast as Bruins host Leafs. The two top teams in the Northeast Division battle on Thursday in hockey betting as the Boston Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins were expected to be a playoff contender this year but the Leafs were not. So far this season the Leafs have been a major surprise in NHL hockey betting at the Sbg global sportsbook and it is a former Bruin who is a big reason why.
Phil Kessel
The main reason the Leafs are having success this season is Phil Kessel who was traded from the Bruins. Kessel has 7 goals this season and 9 points to lead the Maple Leafs. The Bruins got draft picks in exchange for Kessel and one of those picks was Tyler Seguin who grew up watching the Maple Leafs. The Leafs got Kessel but they blew the chance to make Seguin a hometown hero. It doesn’t look too bad now though as Kessel is doing great for Toronto and the Leafs are in first place in the Northeast Division. Thursday night the two teams will meet for the first time since that trade.
Tyler Seguin
The Bruins have had Seguin in their starting lineup but he is such a young player that they must decide what to do with him. They have to decide before his 10th game whether to keep him or send him back to his junior team for the rest of the season. Boston head coach Claude Julien does not want to answer the very difficult question yet. Seguin has been playing on the fourth line and he has three points this season. If the Bruins send him back down then Seguin would be on a top line again and on the top power play unit. The Bruins really can’t do anything with Seguin until Marc Savard returns from injury. They then could move him up on to a top scoring line. The most likely scenario is that the Bruins will send him down.
Toronto Trends
The Maple Leafs is 8-1 in their last 9 vs. the Northeast. The Maple Leafs is 5-1 in their last 6 Thursday games. The Maple Leafs is 8-21 in NHL hockey betting in their last 29 road games. The Maple Leafs is 0-5 in the last 5 meetings in Boston.
Boston Trends
The Bruins are 4-1 in their last 5 overall. The Bruins are 37-17 in their last 54 vs. the Northeast. The Bruins are 1-4 in hockey betting in their last 5 home games.