Panthers vs Leafs Game 1 Odds, Lines & Picks (May 2)

• For the first time ever, the Panther and Maple Leafs meet in the playoffs with Game 1 going down on Tuesday, May 2nd
• The Leafs won three of four meetings between the two sides this season, with three games needing overtime
• Have a look at the Panthers vs Maple Leafs odds, betting lines and our prediction below

It’s a Florida double for the Maple Leafs as they get set for Game 1 against the Panthers on Tuesday, May 2nd after taking care of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.

Toronto finished with 19 more points than the Panthers during the regular season and the Maple Leafs are comfortable -165 favorites in the odds to win this series, despite Florida taking out the record-setting Bruins in the last round.

Below, we’ll provide you with the Panthers vs Maple Leafs odds for Game 1 of this series, as we analyze key matchups before providing you with our best bet and pick.

Panthers vs Maple Leafs Game 1 Odds

A rather peculiar stat has popped up in the first round of the 2023 NHL postseason entering Monday night’s action. Road teams own an astounding 31-18 mark and the Maple Leafs heavily contributed to that in their first-round encounter with the visitors going 5-1 as the Leafs’ only home win was in Game 2.

Nevertheless, the sportsbooks aren’t betting against the Buds to start off the second round as the Maple Leafs are -150 home favorites to get off on the right foot with a victory against Florida. The Panthers were 3-1 as visitors in their series victory against the Bruins.

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Odds as of May 1st at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

Panthers Stun Bruins By Filling The Net

Everybody who didn’t watch closely is wondering how Florida managed to shock the hockey world and bounce the record-setting Bruins from the playoffs. Well, it wasn’t with shutdown hockey.

Midway through the series, coach Paul Maurice yanked inexperienced Alex Lyon for cagey veteran Sergei Bobrovsky. While “Bob” has not looked like the netminder who was a Vezina winner in Columbus, he did do enough to help the Panthers claw back from a 3-1 series deficit. Still, he allowed 16 goals in four starts, which is a bit worrisome.

Bobrovsky vs Samsonov Playoff Stats

It was the Florida offense that was a force to be reckoned with, scoring 15 times in the final three games of the series against Boston, propelling them to this stage of the NHL Playoff Bracket. No team that’s still alive scored more goals in the first round than the 26 the Panthers buried.

While the Leafs are fully aware they’ll have to deal with the net front presence of the feisty Matthew Tkachuk, they’d be wise to keep an eye out for defenseman Brandon Montour whenever he’s on the ice. The blueliner scored five times in the first round and had two goals and three helpers in four games against the Leafs this year.

Maple Leafs Stars Come Up Big

One of the narratives following the Blue and White over the last few years is that the stars haven’t shown up when it matters most. Finally, that storyline has been dispelled, at least for one round.

Auston Matthews: "I’ve been here seven years. Mitchy, Willy, Mo’s been here 10, Johnny five, six, & just to get over that hump is obviously huge mentally for us & we don’t want to look back now. We want to keep putting our foot on the gas & keep pressing forward."

— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) April 30, 2023

Suffering through a down year by his lofty standards, Auston Matthews took over the Tampa series as it went along, scoring in each of the last four games and tallying five times in total. Captain John Tavares scored the series winner and Morgan Rielly might’ve been the MVP against the Lightning scoring three times and totaling eight points.

Panthers vs Maple Leafs Results This Season

Time and time again, the Leafs found holes in Andrei Vasilevskiy, the goalie who most would say is the top netminder in the league. Things got tighter as the series went on, with the Leafs scoring only four times combined in the last two games, but overall, they averaged 3.83 goals per game against the Bolts.

Panthers vs Maple Leafs Prediction

After advancing to the second round for the first time in 19 years, the proverbial monkey has been lifted off the backs of these Maple Leafs players and they should be playing with a sense of freedom that would serve as a breath of fresh air.

Oddsmakers have them pegged as the current favorites in the Stanley Cup odds at +350, with the record-setting Bruins and reigning Stanley Cup champion Avalanche, both eliminated.

Don’t discount the Panthers in the NHL odds for Game 1, though. The first game of a series can always be tough to predict and the success of road teams in the playoffs so far, gives us reason for pause.

Shocked the world. pic.twitter.com/bEfNkfAJKq

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) May 1, 2023

Instead, our best bet and prediction in the Panthers vs Leafs odds is to roll with the over. So far, these teams have a combined 9-4 record in going over the betting line total in the postseason and both starting goalies have been shaky. With so much offensive talent, rolling with goals is the way to go early in this series.

Pick: Over 6.5 Goals (-115)