Saturday shines the spotlight on the Game seven matchup between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. It should be an intense battle with the Bruins looking to elevate themselves over the hump and avoid a second straight 3-1 blown series lead while the Maple Leafs look to keep their championship hopes alive. 

Toronto has been seemingly building for this game for some time now and have built their team into a much tougher animal that combined with the Bruins for 101 hits in Game six.

It'll be a thrilling game that can hopefully get us back on track as we've been lacklustre with our picks lately at a record of 4-6 over our last ten 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 (-135), Maple Leafs Under 2.5 goals (-120), Maple Leafs Bruins Under 5.5 goals (-145)

The Leafs look to play their third game in a row without their 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews which has been successful for them as they won two straight games and tied up the series. 

Both teams have notable losing streaks entering Game seven with the Leafs having lost six winner-take-all games while the Bruins have lost six straight close-out games.

Toronto fans will be reminded of what happened the last time they came back after being 3-1 down to Boston in a series when they faced off in 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Maple Leafs notoriously blew a three goal lead in the final ten minutes of Game seven. 

It could be the same narrative once again as the Leafs have been known to see first round exits often, with their series win over Tampa Bay last season being their first since the 2004 season. 

Boston has a much more experienced group with the sixth-most playoff wins in the league since 2018 at 35 and will cause trouble with their powerplay that is operating at almost 31 per cent during that span. They will also look to continue the trend of President trophy winners seeing success the year following their win of the trophy. 

Last season, the Bruins had a historic season with a 65-12-5 record but were bounced in the first round at the hands of the Florida Panthers as most President trophy winners struggle to find their same success in the playoffs. 

They look to join the list of teams over the past six seasons that have won the trophy and made it to the Stanley Cup final the following year. This happened last season with the Florida Panthers, the Colorado Avalanche in the season prior, the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and finally the Washington Capitals during the 2018 season.  

The Bruins have a group that they built for the playoffs and can physically compete with anyone. Netminder Jeremy Swayman has made it difficult for the Leafs to get by Boston as he's allowed just five goals over the Leafs past two wins. 

If Toronto wants a chance, they will have to play yet another elite defensive game that held the Bruins to low shot numbers through the majority of Games five and six. 

It seems like Toronto is playing over their heads as they’ve played truly elite in their last two wins. It seems unlikely to expect a third-straight near perfect performance.