PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* TOTAL DOMINATION >> Won 5 of Last 6 Days!
(NHL) Columbus vs. Toronto,
Total: 5.50 | 104.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 5.50 | 104.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Toronto Maple Leafs ended a three-game slide with a pair of shootout victories over San Jose and Vancouver to reach 25-16-2. They continue a six-game homestand (2-1-0 so far) when they welcome the 24-16-3 Columbus Blue Jackets to the Air Canada Centre. Columbus won for only the second time in six games (2-3-1) as it outlasted Florida 3-2 in an eight-round shootout on Sunday. Toronto will try to avenge a 4-2 loss at Columbus back on Dec. 20 and break a string in which the Blue Jackets have won five of six in the series.
Columbus: Rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois notched a goal and an assist. in Sunday's win, becoming the fifth player to reach the 20-point plateau for Columbus thi season (Dubois has nine goals & 12 assists). Left wing Artemi Panarin snapped a three-game drought with his team-leading 35th point Sunday, while defenseman Seth Jones had a pair of assists in the shootout win to tie forward Oliver Bjorkstrand for second on the team with 26 points and boasts four goals while setting up seven others in his past 12 contests.
Toronto: "Whenever you get down and come back, it builds a lot of confidence within the group," Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak told reporters after scoring the tying goal and the deciding tally in the shootout Saturday. "It's not an easy thing to do, to come back in this league, so it's nice to be able to do that and build our confidence." The Maple Leafs impressively rallied from two goals down to edge Vancouver in that one. Center Auston Matthews has scored four times in the last four games and owns six in seven since coming back from an upper-body injury. He leadis the team in goals (19) and points (33) overall. Toronto defenseman Travis Dermott, a second-round pick in 2015, made his NHL debut Saturday and finished with an assist, one shot and two hits in 12:03 of ice time. "I thought he was confident, moved the puck, skated good, looks like he has good hockey sense," coach Mike Babcock told reporters of the 21-year-old. "It looked like the (overall) situation didn't intimidate him at all."
The pick: In Bobrovsky and Andersen we have two excellent goalies but I look for this game to surprise and go over the total.
Columbus: Rookie center Pierre-Luc Dubois notched a goal and an assist. in Sunday's win, becoming the fifth player to reach the 20-point plateau for Columbus thi season (Dubois has nine goals & 12 assists). Left wing Artemi Panarin snapped a three-game drought with his team-leading 35th point Sunday, while defenseman Seth Jones had a pair of assists in the shootout win to tie forward Oliver Bjorkstrand for second on the team with 26 points and boasts four goals while setting up seven others in his past 12 contests.
Toronto: "Whenever you get down and come back, it builds a lot of confidence within the group," Maple Leafs center Tyler Bozak told reporters after scoring the tying goal and the deciding tally in the shootout Saturday. "It's not an easy thing to do, to come back in this league, so it's nice to be able to do that and build our confidence." The Maple Leafs impressively rallied from two goals down to edge Vancouver in that one. Center Auston Matthews has scored four times in the last four games and owns six in seven since coming back from an upper-body injury. He leadis the team in goals (19) and points (33) overall. Toronto defenseman Travis Dermott, a second-round pick in 2015, made his NHL debut Saturday and finished with an assist, one shot and two hits in 12:03 of ice time. "I thought he was confident, moved the puck, skated good, looks like he has good hockey sense," coach Mike Babcock told reporters of the 21-year-old. "It looked like the (overall) situation didn't intimidate him at all."
The pick: In Bobrovsky and Andersen we have two excellent goalies but I look for this game to surprise and go over the total.
