Game 3 of the East Qualifying round between the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs and Columbus Blue Jackets is sure to be a fascinating battle. The two teams have very different styles of play, with the Maple Leafs having a ton of speed and offensive flash while the Blue Jackets like to muck it up on defense.
We’ll see the same goaltending matchup once again, as Frederick Anderson mans the pipes for Toronto and Joonas Korpisalo does the same for Columbus. Each of these have traded off shutouts in Games 1 and 2, so the offense will try and figure these two out once again. After all, there have only been a total of five goals scored in this series.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Columbus Blue Jackets
East Qualifying – Game 3 (series tied 1-1)
8:00 p.m. EST (Watch: NBCSN)
Starting Goalies
TOR: Frederik Andersen (29-13-7, 2.85 GAA/.909 SV% this season)
CBJ: Joonas Korpisalo (19-12-5, 2.60 GAA/.911 SV% this season)
Odds & Betting lines (William Hill)
Total: 5.5 goals | Over: +120 | Under: -140
TOR | Moneyline: -150 | Puck Line -1.5: +175
CBJ | Moneyline: +130 | Puck Line +1.5: -200
Injury List
TOR: Jake Muzzin -D (O)
CBJ: none
Interesting Stats
Where’s the Money Going?
As of 3:00 p.m. today, there is a mixed reaction to these two teams. On the moneyline, the number of bets is right in the 50-50 range while the Blue Jackets are slightly getting more favoritism in terms of all money wagered. Where we start to see the Maple Leafs get more love is on the puck line, with 60% of bets on them and 71% of all money wagered. The 5.5-goal total is where things get interesting, as 67% of all bets are on the under and 65% of all money wagered is on the over.
Korpisalo the New Man in Town
At one point, Elvis Merzlikins was wowing the people of Columbus but Korpisalo has regained his job. An injury kept Korpisalo out for about two months before Merzlikins had an injury of his own. This has certainly been an interesting situation to monitor, as both guys are fully capable of carrying the team on their backs.
Betting Picks
Blue Jackets Moneyline (+130)
I really wasn’t a believer of the Blue Jackets in this series, but it looks like they’ve figured out the Maple Leafs offensively. In Game 2, Toronto’s two goals with Korpisalo in net weren’t all that spectacular. Furthermore, this isn’t a team with a lot of playoff success. Columbus, meanwhile, had a nice run in the playoffs last year that gave them a taste of these important matchups like we’ll see tonight.
Over 5.5 goals (+120)
The percentage of all money wagered has me very intrigued about taking the over tonight. There’s such a drastic difference in what the public thinks against the sharps that you have to take notice. It is certainly possible that we see a totally different game than usual, it’s hockey – anything is possible on any given night. If you’re taking the over tonight, you’re doing it because there could be a change of momentum – definitely not because the numbers say so.
