Do the Toronto Maple Leafs Have a Killer Instinct After the Game 4 Win?

The question of killer instinct has come up several times in the Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning NHL first round series.

After the Leafs won Game 4 in OT, 5-4, to take a 3-1 lead in the series, Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was asked about it again in post-game interviews. 

He told reporters he didn’t know how to define it, but maybe it had more to do with his team hanging tough after a slow start in a hostile environment, being outplayed again overall, and somehow finding a way to tough out another close.

So, how does this factor into Game 5, back in Toronto, for those who bet on the NHL?

Toronto Maple Leafs Finding Ways to Win

The Leafs just won two games in Tampa, and you can make a case they shouldn’t have won either one of them. Game 4 was another slow start, down 4-1 after two periods - no “killer instinct” out of the gate yet they win the game anyway.

There’s no question this is a different playoff team, this year, and we’re crediting the impact pickups with championship pedigree like Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari have had in that dressing room. Acciari had another big goal last night. O’Reilly had two assists and was a plus-2, including on Morgan Rielly’s tying goal at the 16:04 mark of the third period.

So what will we see in Game 5? The Leafs that barn-stormed out of the gate in Game 2 en route to a 7-2 drubbing of the Lightning, or another slow start like we’ve seen in Games 3 and 4?

Sportsbooks Like the Maple Leafs vs. the Lightning

Oddsmakers like the Leafs to wrap up the series. NorthStar Bets has Leafs 1.63, Lightning 2.3, the Spread currently is Leafs -1.5 (+165), Tampa +1.5 (1.5). The O/U currently is -107 on 6.5, 1.88 on the Under. 

BetRivers Sportsbook has the Spread at Leafs -1.5 (2.65) and Tampa +1.5 (1.5), the Moneyline Tampa 2.30, Leafs 1.63, and the O/U 1.93 on Over 6.5, 1.88 on the Under.

We’re 2-0 in our picks in this series so far, and we never thought we would say it, but here we are. We like the Leafs to win, but we’re taking Tampa on that Spread again. Here’s why: You can’t for one second convince me this is the real Andrei Vasilevskiy we have been seeing in the series thus far.

This guy has been all-world his entire career – 64 playoff wins and two Stanley Cup titles. This series he has a .865 save percentage, and a 4.33 GAA.

As their coach Jon Cooper said after Game 4 – you score four goals, you need to win that game.

Vasilevskiy will bounce back Thursday night, have a strong game, and it will be tight again.

Some betting stats coming out of last night: According to BetRivers, the Leafs were as long as 9.00 live Moneyline early in the third period. Someone put a $500 live bet down to win $4,000. The game to be tied at the end of regulation was 4.35. Alex Killorn first goal scorer was 18.00, and the largest winning wager was $3,300 on the Leafs Moneyline at 1.94.