Can Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs get by the pesky Columbus Blue Jackets in the best-of-five qualifying round? Photo by @MapleLeafs (Twitter).
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the best-of-five qualifying round at one of two Hub cities the league has yet to determine
- The Maple Leafs have not won a Stanley Cup in 53 years and have an added elimination round to deal with when the NHL returns to play
- Toronto has opened as the favorite, but there are two key reasons you should bet them sooner rather than later
The Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967 and, with the NHL’s 24-team playoff plan official, they’ll need to get by the Columbus Blue Jackets to even earn a spot in the playoffs proper.
Blue Jackets vs Maple Leafs Best-of-Five Series Odds
| Team | Series Odds |
|---|---|
| Columbus Blue Jackets | +130 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | -150 |
Odds as of May 27th.
Neither Toronto or Columbus are getting much love in the 2020 Stanley Cup odds, but this should still be one hell of a series. We all remember the Blue Jackets stunning the hockey world last year, sweeping the Presidents Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round.
Can they pull off the upset yet again? For my money, the answer to that question is a resounding no.
Part of who we are#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/tVJCy8RJV6
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 27, 2020
Maple Leafs Have Definite Edge Scoring Goals
This isn’t the dead-puck era where, as soon as the playoffs began, scoring twice made you a near lock to be celebrating a victory at the end of the game. In the new and improved NHL, scoring matters even in the postseason. The Maple Leafs had three players tally 60+ points this season in Auston Matthews (80), Mitch Marner (67) and captain John Tavares (60). William Nylander finished the year with 59, so we’ll lump him into this conversation as well. Toronto boasts one of the most powerful offensive lineups in hockey, which should be of major concern to Columbus.
Though on pace to top Rick Vaive’s 1981-82 franchise record for goals in a season (54) when 2019-20 was paused, Auston Matthews will finish it with 47 instead. It still ties John Tavares (2018-19) for 7th in single season tallies by a @MapleLeafs player and the most among centres pic.twitter.com/CEwiNzYu1w
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) May 27, 2020
Just how stark is the contrast between the two teams? Toronto ranked third in goals per game (3.39) while Columbus finished tied for 27th (2.57). Forget all those 60-point players on the Maple Leafs, the Blue Jackets didn’t have a single player crack the 50-point plateau. Pierre-Luc Dubois led the way with only 49 points. If Toronto finds its momentum on offense, it’ll be almost impossible for Columbus to keep up.
Andersen Could Be The X-Factor
The Blue Jackets undeniably have some nice depth in the one position you don’t really need any come playoff time. You don’t need two solid NHL goalies to win the Stanley Cup – let alone a single best-of-five series – you need one solid goalie capable of stealing a hockey game when he needs to.
Columbus’ duo of Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins combined for the third-best goals against per game mark in the league, but neither have proven themselves capable in the playoffs. Who would you rather have between the pipes: one of Korpisalo/Merzlikins or Toronto’s Frederik Andersen? The answer seems clear to me.
Frederik Andersen wasted no time to go up 1-0 on Christian Fischer.
Biz & Whit are on the call.
Tune in: https://t.co/PJZD159vJJ
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) May 27, 2020
There’s a reason the Blue Jackets pair recently signed new deals worth a combined $6.8-million next year. When Andersen hits the open market after next season, he’ll likely be paid more than that on his own.
Bet The Maple Leafs Before Odds Shift
Of the eight opening-round series, only the Pittsburgh Penguins have been given better odds of qualifying for the playoffs. Oddsmakers are siding with Toronto and it’s not only because of the public money set to pour in from north of the border. Their top-end talent have yet to win a series together and, despite this not being an official playoff round, expect the quartet of Matthews-Marner-Tavares-Nylander to come through when it matters most.
PICK: Toronto Maple Leafs (-150)
Additional NHL Qualifying Round Coverage:
Ryan has been working at TSN for over nine years, and is now a lead writer and content producer at That’s Hockey. Over the years, he’s launched and hosted TSN’s first NCAAF podcast, The College Football Show, and been featured on the likes of TSN 1050, Sportscentre, and That’s Hockey 2Nite.
source https://casinonewsblogger.com/leafs-vs-blue-jackets-series-odds-see-toronto-open-as-150-favorite/
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