Florida Panthers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs: NHL Odds, Prediction
The Florida Panthers are one of the few NHL teams to have figured out how to limit Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews – and they would love to keep that going Wednesday night as they travel to Toronto for a pivotal Atlantic Division showdown. The Maple Leafs are looking to rebound after dropping a 3-2 decision to the rival Buffalo Sabres on Monday, a loss that ended Toronto’s incredible 13-game home winning streak.
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs Betting Analysis
Toronto has a considerable edge in this one despite coming off a demoralizing home loss to a Sabres team that will finish with one of the worst records in the league. But the Maple Leafs still come in with six wins in their last eight games overall and are 10-3 in their last 13 on one day’s rest. Florida is no slouch itself, coming in with victories in 20 of its previous 27 games while going 19-7 in its past 26 contests against Eastern Conference opponents.
Bettors will need to decide which team’s totals trends to trust in this one. The Panthers are skewing heavily toward the under, having gone below the number in 12 of their previous 17 games against divisional foes while going 1-5 O/U in their last six vs. teams with winning records. Toronto, by comparison, is a red-hot 8-2 O/U in its previous 10 games and has gone above the total in 10 consecutive contests against teams above .500.
The Maple Leafs opened as a -165 favourite for this NHL matchup.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers’ goaltending situation was one of the team’s weak spots in the first half of the season, but it has caught fire at the best possible time. Florida has recorded four shutouts in its previous 10 games, with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer racking up two apiece in that span. That improved puck-stopping is a major reason why the Panthers are 10-3-1 in March, and are in the hunt for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot with less than two weeks left in the season.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthews has struggled against the Panthers in his career, scoring just two goals with one assist in seven career meetings. But that hasn’t prevented the Maple Leafs from dominating the head-to-head series, having won each of the past four meetings at Air Canada Centre. And the Panthers had better heed the Toronto power play, which has converted at an incredible 48-percent clip (12-for-25) so far this month, improving to 23.6 percent for the season.
