NHL Over Bettors Cashing in on High-Scoring Chicago, Toronto

Chicago and Toronto are two of the highest scoring teams, and they both have been helping NHL over bettors. The two are scoring goals in bunches, and that didn’t figure to change when the two met Wednesday night.

Toronto is tied for third in the league in scoring with 250 goals. Chicago is No. 6 with 237. The Blackhawks have the highest over record in the league at 46-19-5, while Toronto is 11th at 35-32-3.

The Blackhawks have been a dream for over bettors. Going into Wednesday’s game with the Maple Leafs they had hit the over 27 of 32 times, and the five they didn’t, three of those were a push.

Toronto’s streak has not been as good, but still strong over the last 17 games, where they were 12-5. The two kept over bettors happy on Wednesday, with Chicago winning, 5-4.

High Scoring From Start

It was of little surprise the game started out with a scoring barrage, the over/under was set at 6.5. That was the same over/under for the team’s only other meeting on Oct. 7, which the Maple Leafs won 7-6 in overtime.

What was shocking was it was the team that was a +220 to win doing all the early scoring. Chicago had three goals in the first, then added another in the second to jump out to a 4-0 lead.

Toronto, who is tied for the third best record in the Eastern Conference, decided to mount a comeback. The over was achieved with just over 12 minutes to play when Austin Matthews scored the first of three Toronto goals. They couldn’t get the equalizer, however.

“We put ourselves in a hole and we did our best to come back from it, but too little too late,” Toronto’s Morgan Rielly said. “When you look back at the start and the position we put ourselves in after the first period, that’s the problem. The last period is great, but you don’t want to be in that situation in the first place.”

Collin Delia replaced Chicago’s starting goalie Corey Crawford after the second period, and was in net for the third, when the Maple Leafs peppered him with 29 shots, falling just four shots shy of the NHL record for most in a period.

“It felt like an eternity, those final seconds felt like a half an hour,” Delia said. “I was sweating pretty heavily after the game. After skating pretty heavily this morning, it definitely felt like a full game that third period.”

Both Teams Concerned About Playoffs

Chicago and Toronto both have playoff concerns. The Blackhawks are fighting to make the postseason, while the Maple Leafs are wondering far they will go after recent struggles.

Toronto has lost three of its last four games, including defeats to lowly Edmonton and Vancouver. One of the losses was a 6-2 drubbing by Tampa Bay, the best team in the league and the 9/4 favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

The Blackhawks have won their last four and still have a chance to make the playoffs. Captain Jonathan Toews said the team has to keep playing with that sense of urgency.

“Right now, we just know that with the meaning of these points and these games, every game is going to be tough,” Toews said. “The playoffs have already started, if you ask me.”