The Toronto Maple Leafs have the edge heading into Game 2 of the Battle of Ontario.
The pregame narrative: Toronto scored a whopping six goals against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday, led by the Core Four. Bank on Auston Matthews and William Nylander to continue producing in the second game of this series.
Check out my Senators vs. Maple Leafs prop picks for Game 2 of the opening round.
BOOST: Leafs to win, Matthews & Nylander to score (+561, was +510). Bet now!
Senators vs. Maple Leafs picks
Best bet: Matthews over 3.5 shots (-124)
Toronto was outshot 33-24 in Game 1. But a majority of the damage was done by the top dogs, and that, of course, includes Matthews.
The captain recorded six of the Leafs’ 24 shots. They had six power plays, too, which will always help offensive production.
I could see Toronto being on the man advantage plenty again as the Senators are one of the more physical, but undisciplined teams in the NHL.
The Senators allow 28.6 shots per game, which is in the bottom half of the league. It’s also a fair bit more than the Leafs’ 24 shots on Saturday.
Matthews already had a high volume of shots in Game 1, and there could be more chances on the board in Game 2.
Key stat: Matthews ranked third in the NHL this season with 3.9 shots per game.
Game 2 prop prediction
Nylander to score 1+ goals (+143): It was easy to convince myself to bet on Nylander in the playoffs.
And that’s not to say the winger didn’t have a fantastic season. His career-high 45 goals were the second most in the league.
But there’s something special about Willy in the postseason, and it was on display in the first game.
Nylander assisted John Tavares’ second-period goal. He then ripped one of his own past Linus Ullmark on the two-man advantage.
Last year, he missed the first part of the Leafs’ opening series with the Boston Bruins but came back to score two goals in Game 6 and his team’s only goal in the 2-1 Game 7 loss.
The electric winger is on a bit of a scoring streak in the playoffs right now, lighting the lamp in three straight. I’m willing to take a shot on that continuing.
Nylander has 26 goals in 42 home games this season (Sunday included).
Maple Leafs vs. Senators prop picks made at 2:10 p.m. ET 04/21/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.