The Boston Bruins, led by defenseman Zdeno Chara, host the Toronto Maple Leafs, led by center Auston Matthews, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, in game one of their 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs first round series on Thursday, April 11, 2019
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(4/11/19) at 7 p.m. EDT. Toronto Maple Leafs at Boston Bruins, Game 1 THE PLAYOFFS ARE COMING!!! The Boston Bruins host the Toronto Maple Leafs for the first game of this all-Atlantic Division playoff series. What: Toronto has upgrades to flaunt on offense. Boston boasts the best line in hockey. Can the defense keep up?
The Boston Bruins (50-20-12) begin what they hope will be a long NHL playoff run Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs (49-26-7) as solid home favorites for Game 1 of their first-round series.

The Bruins are among the favorites to win the Stanley Cup despite bowing out in the first round a year ago and failing to make the postseason the previous two seasons.
The Bruins opened as -167 favorites (wager $167 to win $100); the total is at six goals, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.
The Maple Leafs battled injuries throughout the season (Auston Matthews missed 20 games) but still finished with 105 points, tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference. That was a 10-point improvement upon last year's performance, which marked the first time they had appeared in the playoffs in four years.

Toronto head coach Mike Babcock has done a fantastic job in rebuilding a team that could be a sleeper in the East.
The Maple Leafs won three of the four regular-season meetings between these sides, according to the OddsShark NHL Database, and the confidence gained from that series victory should give them a boost.
Boston made a late run at the Atlantic Division title and had an opportunity to win it with a victory versus the Florida Panthers in their regular-season finale. Unfortunately, the Bruins fell 4-2 and had to settle for this matchup instead.

While they lost the season series, two of the games were decided by just one goal, including one in overtime.

Even with four losses in its past five games, Boston seems to be peaking late in the season and getting healthy at the right time, with a solid mix of veterans and youngsters ready to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
You could say the Bruins choked a bit in April after briefly taking over the division lead from the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had sat atop the Atlantic almost all year.

However, the playoffs are a new season, and that could also help a team such as Toronto, who underachieved a bit after being considered one of the preseason favorites.

Along with this year, the Maple Leafs have won seven of the teams' past eight meetings, dating back to 2016, so look for them to continue that success in this series by taking Game 1 in an upset.