The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs meet for Game 5 of their 1st-round Eastern Conference playoff series Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The series is tied 2-2. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Below, we look at the Lightning vs. Maple Leafs Game 5 odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
The Lightning split two games in Toronto, and they split a pair of games on home ice. No one has really been able to gather much momentum in this series, although we’ve seen plenty of goals.
The Maple Leafs have scored a total of 16 goals while yielding 14 goals, and every game has been decided by 2 or more goals. The most sure thing seems to be the Over so far.
Lightning at Maple Leafs odds and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:20 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Lightning +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Maple Leafs -130 (bet $130 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Lightning +1.5 (-240) | Maple Leafs -1.5 (+175)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -125 | U: +100)
Lightning at Maple Leafs projected goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (39-18-5, 2.49 GAA, .916 SV%, 2 SO – regular season) vs. Jack Campbell (31-9-6, 2.64 GAA, .914 SV%, 5 SO – regular season)
Vasilevskiy bounced back from the Game 3 loss, stopping 22 of the 25 shots he faced. He is still a very ordinary 2-2 with a 3.54 GAA and .888 SV% in 4 postseason starts so far.
Campbell was yanked in Game 4 after allowing 5 goals on 16 shots. Rookie G Erik Kallgren came on and stopped all 10 of the shots he faced, although “Soup” will be back in the crease for Game 5.
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Lightning at Maple Leafs picks and predictions
Prediction
Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3
Money line
It’s hard to believe in a MAPLE LEAFS (-130) team which has had so much postseason misery in recent seasons. This team hasn’t made it to the second round since 2004.
However, Toronto has been showing up and scoring plenty of goals, which is a difference from years past. Back them at home, as they push the Lightning into an elimination game.
Against the spread
The Lightning +1.5 (-240) is a little on the expensive side if you’d like some insurance. If you like Tampa Bay, just play them straight up. It’s not a terrible value at plus money against a team that just cannot get out of its own way across the past two decades of playoffs.
AVOID.
Over/Under
OVER 6.5 (-125) is the lean, although go lightly. We’ve seen the Over cashed in the past three games, with an average of 8.33 combined goals per contest. You can’t count on the Under until things change dramatically in this series.
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