Florida Panthers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Game 1 Prediction, NHL Odds
The Toronto Maple Leafs have finally advanced in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and their reward Tuesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals is not the record-setting Boston Bruins but instead the Florida Panthers. The Leafs are -162 favourites on the NHL odds.
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs NHL Playoff Betting Odds
Toronto caught a massive break, at least on paper, with Florida knocking off NHL record-setting Boston in Round 1 because now the Leafs have home-ice advantage in Round 2 – which seemed like a pipe dream entering the playoffs.
The Leafs were 3-1 in the regular season vs. the Panthers but did lose the most recent one at Scotiabank Arena on March 29, 3-2 in overtime. Mitchell Marner (1G, 5A) led Toronto with six points, and Auston Matthews (5G) had five. Ilya Samsonov was 2-0-1 with a 1.44 goals-against average and .953 save per centage. Brandon Montour (2G, 3A) led Florida with five points but was minus-5. Sergei Bobrovsky was 0-1-1 with a 4.99 GAA and .841 SV, and Alex Lyon 1-0-0 with a 1.92 GAA and .938 SV.
Toronto is -222 on the series line and Florida +160. On the series handicap, the Leafs at -1.5 games are +126 and the Panthers at +1.5 games -143. The over-under for total games is 5.5, with the over a -185 favourite. The favoured exact result is Toronto in seven at +414. That’s where I lean.
The home team is 15-5 in the past 20 meetings.
Florida Panthers
Florida was the Presidents’ Trophy winner in the 2021-22 season and got swept out of the second round of last year’s playoffs. This time, the Panthers eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy-winning and record-setting Boston Bruins in Game 7 on Sunday in Boston, 4-3 in overtime. The B’s had scored three straight goals to lead 3-2, but Florida tied it on Brandon Montour’s fifth goal of the series at 19:00 of the third, and Carter Verhaeghe’s second goal of the series at 8:35 of OT won it. Five of his 10 career playoff goals have been game-winners. Florida became just the eighth team to defeat the Presidents’ Trophy winner in the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Panthers did it switching No. 1 goalies mid-series from a struggling Alex Lyon to Sergei Bobrovsky, who presumably starts Game 1 in Toronto. He became the seventh goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to post multiple career wins in series-clinching games against the league’s top team from the regular season. Florida is 7-1 in its past eight road games.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 2004 with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 in Tampa on Saturday. John Tavares’ fourth goal of the series at 4:36 of OT was the clincher. Rookie Matthew Knies was instrumental in setting up the series-clinching goal. Auston Matthews had the other goal, his fourth straight with one. The Maple Leafs became the first team in Stanley Cup playoff history with three overtime wins on the road in a single series. Forward Michael Bunting, a healthy scratch in Game 5 after being cleared from suspension, was back on the ice in Game 2 and played 16:21 with a shot. Ilya Samsonov finished the series with a 3.14 GAA and .900 SV. It’s the first-ever postseason matchup between these franchises. Leafs fans planning to venture to the Miami are to see a game in this series should know that the Panthers are restricting ticket sales for home games to residents of the United States in an effort to keep Toronto fans out. Toronto is 8-2 in its past 10 games.
