The Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs meet in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Thursday. The Maple Leafs lead the series 3-1. Puck drop from Scotiabank Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Lightning vs. Maple Leafs odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Lightning suffered back-to-back overtime losses on home ice in Game 3 (4-3, Saturday) and Game 4 (5-4, Monday) as the Maple Leafs have pushed Tampa Bay to the brink.
Tampa Bay held a 4-1 lead in Game 4 heading into the 3rd period, but Toronto got 2 goals from C Auston Matthews, including a power play marker, and D Morgan Rielly tied the game 4-4, helping to force overtime. C Alex Kerfoot was the hero in the extra session, taking advantage of a tripping call on Lightning D Mikhail Sergachev.
The Maple Leafs are looking to win their first playoff series since 2004. The last time they led a series 3-1 was in 2021 when they fell on home ice in Game 5 in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens en route to dropping the series.