Toronto and Tampa Both Need Defense to Win Tonight

Maple Leafs vs. Lightning, 7:30 ET

We had another win on the ice yesterday and ran the record to 6-1 in the postseason. I can't ask for much more than that. The game we played yesterday was a win for the Dallas Stars where we saw the zig-zag trend once again cash. Now I am switching to another series that we did get a victory in already and I want to see what we can do in tonight's game.

Toronto certainly has the ability to hoist the Stanley Cup at the end of the year, but this is a tough matchup for them. So far, they are up in the series and looking to take both road games from Tampa Bay. After dropping the opening game of the series, they have taken the past two. All three of the games in this series have seen at least seven goals. In order for them to take this Game 4 they need to revert back to their strong defense. In fairness, they've shown it most of Game 2 and even some of Game 3. Both of these offenses are capable of putting up a ton of goals, but tonight should be a little different. I am expecting the Maple Leafs to look to their defense to create turnovers that can lead to offense.

This is a must-win game for the Lightning, not in the true sense of the phrase, but going back to Toronto down 3-1 isn't going to be encouraging for anyone. They've done a good job of protecting their home ice this season, but they can't seem to crack Toronto's improved defensive schemes since Game 1. Not only do they need to be more aggressive offensively, they need to find ways to stop them defensively. After allowing three goals in the first game of the series, they've allowed 11 in the past two games. I expect them to put added focus here on the defense. They know how to score at any time and have shown they can be explosive, but that won't do them much good if they keep allowing their goalie to be peppered with shots all night.

I'm backing the under in this game. I've mentioned the other games all went over, I believe both teams need to put added influence on defense. This is one of the more sweat-inducing plays I've had in the playoffs because both teams can put up seven goals if they want to (and both already have scored seven in a game). I'm backing the under 6.5 tonight.

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