Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the NHL match.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins faced off the weekend before last. In that encounter, the Maple Leafs, as is often the case, led twice but ultimately surrendered their lead due to critical individual errors (3:4 OT). Since then, little has changed: the Canadian club continues to concede heavily, while the Bruins remain highly inconsistent.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Last week, the Maple Leafs' defence managed to lose to the St. Louis Blues for the second time this season (2:4) and fell to the Minnesota Twins in overtime (1:2) due to a dreadful change. It's nothing new for the Leafs to find the most unconventional ways to make mistakes. However, their newly assembled power play unit piques interest. They now deploy five forwards with two playmakers, concentrating their top talent: John Tavares, Mitchell Marner, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and Auston Matthews. In their first outing, they scored and ended a six-game scoreless streak on the power play.
Boston Bruins
Boston managed to secure expected points as favourites against the Seattle Krakens and the Philadelphia Flyers, but their true level was exposed in the match against the Carolina Hurricanes (2:8). Goaltender Jeremy Swayman remains uncharacteristically poor, with an 89.5% save percentage, and their defence allows an unusually high number of chances beyond their blue line—averaging over three expected goals per game.
Toronto Maple Leafs vs Boston Bruins Prediction
The chaotic nature of the first game can easily be replicated in this second encounter. The Toronto Maple Leafs' revamped power play is intriguing, but they have minus players on their lower lines—Jesper Boqvist, Mark Kastelic, Cole Koepke, and John Beecher could capitalise. These players have scored 12 goals, accounting for a third of the Bruins' total goals this season. We're betting on a high-scoring game.
