9:37 pm
April 5

Maple Leafs @ Flames

Who will WIN this matchup?

Toronto Maple Leafs (25-10-3)

@ Calgary Flames (16-20-3)

 

Starting Goalies:

Jack Campbell (TOR): Confirmed

Jacob Markstrom (CGY): Confirmed

 

Current odds:

Toronto Maple Leafs: (-180)

Calgary Flames: (+160)

 

• Elite teams win even with their ‘B’ game. The Toronto Maple Leafs found that extra gear when it counted in Sunday’s 4-2 road win over the sputtering Calgary Flames and expect the same of themselves when the two teams meet again on Monday, but with better execution en route to a win.

• The Maple Leafs have won three straight games and are on a 6-0-1 roll that has strengthened their perch atop the North Division. Moreover, they have a 7-0-1 mark in games in Alberta this season, including a trio of wins in Calgary. Tavares and Auston Matthews had a huge hand in extending that success. Tavares netted the game-winner a couple of minutes before Matthews rounded out the scoring with his league-leading 25th goal of the season. Matthews is the first player in franchise history to score 25 or more goals in each of their first five seasons.

• The Flames are mathematically alive in the playoff fight, but barring a total collapse by the Montreal Canadiens and a massive winning spree, punching a ticket to the second season is a pipe dream. Calgary sits six points back of fourth-place Montreal, and the Canadiens have five games in hand. The Flames have five games scheduled against Montreal among the 17 remaining on the schedule, but any chance to make up ground in those clashes won’t exist with the track they’re on. Calgary has lost three straight games and seven of eight, all in regulation time.

• Making their swoon even worse is the fact the Flames held a lead in each of their last three losses. The last two were tied 2-2 before they fell.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Toronto Maple Leafs
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