Morning Coffee: Expect goals in Columbus tonight

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been scoring goals in bunches of late.

They’ve also been giving up goals in bunches.

While that’s a problem for a team coming off back-to-back losses to the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks in which they’ve allowed an average of 5.5 goals per game, it provides bettors with an opportunity.

The over is 12-4-1 in Toronto’s 17 games dating back to Jan. 26.

That stretch includes three games in which one or both teams scored enough goals on their own for the over to hit on the game total.

The Maple Leafs went a combined 10-6-1 over that span.

Toronto’s next opponent has provided a similar opportunity for bettors of late.

In the Columbus Blue Jackets’ past 16 games, dating back to Jan. 27, the over is a combined 11-3-2.

That stretch also includes three games in which one of the two teams scored enough goals on its own to push the game total over the number.

With the Maple Leafs set to visit Columbus tonight, can we go ahead and pencil in another over?

All signs point towards another busy night for the goal cannon operator at Nationwide Arena.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Monday, March 7, 2022.

Expect goals in Columbus tonight

The Maple Leafs (3.64) and Blue Jackets (3.27) both rank in the top nine in goals per game this season.

Those numbers are even higher if we focus on their production over the past few weeks.

Toronto has averaged 4.24 goals per game dating back to Jan. 26 – the second-highest mark in the league behind only the Florida Panthers (4.33).

Columbus ranks fifth in that category over that same span with 3.82 goals per game.

Meanwhile, both teams rank in the bottom third of the league in goals allowed per game in that period.

From @djpoulin20 on @JayOnSC: Are the Maple