Lightning vs Maple Leafs Hockey Odds
The Tampa Bay Lightning will make the trip north of the border to the Air Canada Centre for a date with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
CLICK TO GRAB OUR BEST Expert NHL Picks for 2014 HOCKEY Betting!
Tampa Bay Lightning (31-16-5) at Toronto Maple Leafs (27-21-6)
Date: Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Air Canada Centre
City: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
O/U Odds: 5.5
Money Line: Tampa Bay -120, Toronto +111
[dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
ATS Matchup Insight | CappersPicks Insider Preview
Check out our in-house NHL Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s NHL Picks Today!
The Lightning and Maple Leafs share one big thing in common and that is that each side relies heavily on their top scorer to provide offense, particularly with Steven Stamkos still recovering from a broken leg in Tampa. Phil Kessel’s 27 goals, 27 assists, and 54 points leads the Leafs in each category, while Martin St. Louis paces the Lightning with 25 goals, 27 assists, and 52 points.
*CLICK HERE* GRAB OUR BEST Expert NHL Hockey Picks for 2014 GAMBLING season!
St. Louis is currently riding an 11-game point streak despite playing without his usual centerman. New linemates Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat have really stepped up their game playing alongside the veteran winger, with Johnson recording his first career hat trick in the team’s last game, a 5-2 win over Colorado.
[ad-4437448]
The trio has combined to score 32 goals in the team’s last 25 games since the line was assembled. Despite their youth, the team’s offense has travelled well, scoring 38 goals in winning nine of their last 11 road contests. That, combined with the fact that Toronto has surrendered 27 goals over their last eight games, and 12 over their last two, could mean success for this line once again on this night.
Each side will lean heavily on their top performer in this one as goals have not been all that hard to come by when these sides have met in recent years. Over the last eight meetings, the winning side has averaged nearly 4.8 goals per game.
Toronto’s certainly ready for that type of game as they’ve scored 3.8 goals per game over their last seven contests, although they’ve also surrendered 3.6 goals per game over that same time frame. As for Tampa Bay, they’ve scored 4.5 goals per game over their last four contests, while allowing 3.3 goals per game in those outings.
A big part of Toronto’s uptick in scoring has been the success of their power play. The team ranks third in the league in converting with the man advantage, converting on 9 of 34 power play opportunities in their last nine games.
Each of the three times these teams met last season, a total of 6.0 was installed for the game, and each time they at least hit that number. With each side scoring goals in bunches of late and neither side offering up a lot of confidence with what they’ve been sending out between the pipes, another high-scoring affair can be expected.
The over is 7-0-1 in the Maple Leafs’ last eight home games, and 4-0 in the Lightnings’ last four games overall.
The play: Over 5.5 -110
