The Avalanche average the most goals per playoff game since 2018 at 3.81 while the Jets have allowed an average of four goals per home playoff game during that span.
Tuesday could be the last game of the season for a handful of teams with the Jets looking to avoid elimination on home ice while the Maple Leafs, Islanders and Predators all have the daunting task of trying to do this while playing on the road.
We luckily split our Best Bets last night and have plenty of chances to get the ball rolling tonight in the right direction. We’re looking to catch fire once again as our record has soured to 6-7 over our last 13 picks.
All betting lines are from BetMGM and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Bet: Bruins ML (-150), Leafs Under 2.5 goals (-105)
The Leafs snap two impressive statistics over the past two games where they lost just their second Game three of the first round since 2017 and followed it up by dropping both home games to start the series for the first time since 2013 when they came back against the Bruins and forced a Game seven.
It’ll be tough to do that once again as the Leafs could possibly be without their 69-goal scorer in Auston Matthews as he is likely out with an undisclosed illness.
This will be tough as the Leafs have severely struggled in the scoring department with just seven goals through the first four games which has them tied with the Washington Capitals who just got finished being swept by the New York Rangers.
They need some of their depth forwards to come alive if they want a shot in this one and it doesn’t seem likely as the Leafs top line has done all the work with Matthews and linemates Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi scoring three of the teams seven goals.
It’ll be hard for the team to overcome their demons and have so many of their players respond in a big way when they haven’t been able to do that in seven of their last eight games as they’ve only earned one win since early April.
A rule of thumb in the playoffs is to also never go against a red hot netminder and this series for Jeremy Swayman is personal after the Leafs showed interest in the 25-year-old netminder before passing on him for another goaltender in the 2017 NHL draft.
Bet: Avalanche Jets Over 6.5 goals (-125), Jets ML (+100)
The Action Network currently shows that 60 per cent of betters are taking the Avalanche to top the Jets tonight on the road and finish the series. It shouldn’t be so easy as the Jets have almost completely lost touch with their defensive game that made them elite in the first place.
They are due for a game where they find themselves once again and should finally step up for their Vezina trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck, who has been getting peppered and has been forced to make 127 through the first four games of the series.
The past few games have been the worst on paper for Hellebuyck all season and are a far departure from his regular playoff form as in his career he has a 2.80 goals against average with a .912 save percentage. He should bounce back and keep the Jets in this game but not enough to prevent the Over in goals.
The Jets have the highest goals against average in the league during the playoffs since 2018 at four goals a game through 13 games.
During that same span, the Avalanche have also scored the most goals on average with 3.81 and have continued to blast the Jets all series with their depth scoring. They have ten players with a goal and have five players with six or more points.
They have the skill of constantly applying pressure and doing so until they find results. The Jets should have a much stronger, valiant effort at home for their fans but will need to do that by trying to outscore the Avalanche.