The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs continue their first-round playoff series rematch this Thursday in Ontario. Unlike last year’s series, it’s Tampa Bay who got the upper hand in Game 1 this time around. Can the Lightning steal another win on the road, or will the Maple Leafs finally wake up and tie the series before heading to Florida?

Nitrobetting is here to turn your betting slapshots into winning goals with betting tips and news coverage throughout the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. This time, let’s break down the upcoming Game 2 first-round showdown between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Lightning vs. Maple Leafs Game 2 2023 NHL Playoffs First-Round Information

• When: Thursday, April 20, 2023, 7:00 PM ET
• Where: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ONB
• TV: ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, BSSUN
• Radio: 102.5 The Bone (Lightning) // 630 CHED (Maple Leafs)
• Live Stream: NBA League Pass
• NBA Betting Odds: Lightning (+1.5) / Maple Leafs (-1.5)

READ MORE: Panthers vs. Bruins 2023 NHL Playoffs Odds and Game 2 Preview – April 19th

Why Bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Despite losing momentum at the tail-end of the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning rediscovered their winning form when it mattered most, cruising to a 7-3 victory in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was lower-seeded Tampa Bay that eliminated Toronto in the first round last season as history appears to be repeating itself by how things looked in the series opener.

The Lightning went up 3-0 early in the first period before the Leafs made a second-period rally. However, Brayden Point scored a pair of power-play goals to blow the game open and back in favor of the Bolts. Veteran winger Corey Perry also scored a goal with the man advantage to go with two assists, while former Hart Memorial Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov also produced a similar stat line as Perry.

In a battle between two potent power-play offenses – the Lightning ranked third n the league (25.4 PP%) while the Maple Leafs ranked second (26.0 PP%) – the latter team had better success as the Bolts scored four power-play goals in the series opener. Tampa Bay got a decent start out of former Vezina winner Andrei Vasilevskiy with 28 saves in Game 1, but Vasilevskiy should expect more shots heading his way as Toronto’s desperation also amps up.

Why Bet on the Toronto Maple Leafs?

What is it with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the first round of the postseason? The often-ridiculed Original Six franchise had another letdown with its blowout loss in Game 1, which is quite foreboding since Toronto has not advanced past the first round of the postseason in six consecutive years.

On the bright side, the Maple Leafs scored a couple of power-play goals in the second period to come back from the early 3-0 hole that the Lightning put them in. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner each assisted in two of their team’s three goals scored, so at least the Leafs’ top stars are still heavily involved in the production.

What’s a bigger concern, though, is that stud goalie Ilya Samsonov had an outing best left forgotten. Samsonov, who finished fifth in the NHL during the regular season with a 2.33 goals-against average, uncharacteristically ceded six goals to Tampa Bay. Samsonov should not be fazed by this off-night and will likely have a bounce-back effort on Thursday.

Lightning vs. Maple Leafs Betting Trends

• The Lightning are 2-6 in its last eight games on the road.
• The Bolts are 4-2 in the last six meetings against Toronto.
• The totals went over in each of Tampa Bay’s last four road games.
• The Maple Leafs are 3-5 in the last eight home games.
• The Leafs are 5-4 in its last nine outings as favorites to win.
• The totals went over in four of the last six games played in Scotiabank Arena.

Lightning vs. Maple Leafs Game 2 Expert Betting Predictions

Game 2 won’t likely be as wide of a blowout as it was in Game 1, as these two Atlantic Division rivals are more than familiar with one another. And while we expect this to be another relatively high-scoring affair that will be tightly contested until the final buzzer, we’ll have to side with Tampa Bay taking Game 2 as well with their title-winning core’s experience shining through in the clutch.

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