Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs: Game 1 preview, predictions and odds | Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2, May 05, 2025

The second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is set to begin on Monday, May 5, as the Florida Panthers take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at 8 p.m. ET.

Florida beat Tampa Bay in 5 games, while Toronto beat Ottawa in 6 games.

Panthers vs Leafs: Head-to-head & key stats

Florida went 3-1 this season against Toronto
The Panthers averaged 3 goals per game this season
Toronto is 27-13-1 at home
Florida allowed 2.71 goals per game
The Maple Leafs averaged 3.25 goals per game
The Panthers went 20-19-2 on the road
Toronto allowed 2.79 goals per game

Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Preview

Florida dominated Tampa Bay in 5 games and now has plenty of confidence going into the second round. The Panthers will be without Aaron Ekblad, who's serving the second game of his two-game suspension. In the playoffs, Florida is led by Sam Reinhart, who has 6 points, Aleksandar Barkov, Sam Bennett, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, and Matthew Tkachuk have 5 points, and Brad Marchand has 4 points.

The Panthers will start Sergei Bobrovsky, who went 33-19-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .906 SV%. In his career against Toronto, he's 16-9-1 with a 2.66 GAA and a .907 SV%. In the playoffs, he's 4-1 with a 2.21 GAA and a .901 SV%.

Toronto, meanwhile, got up 3-0 in their series but lost two games in a row before winning Game 6. The Maple Leafs will start Anthony Stolarz, who went 21-8-3 with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 SV%. In his career against Florida, he's 1-2 with a 3.06 GAA and a .886 SV%. In the playoffs, he went 4-2 with a 2.21 GAA and a .901 SV%.

In the playoffs, Toronto was led by William Nylander, who has 9 points, Mitch Marner has 8 points, Auston Matthews has 7 points, John Tavares has 5 points, and Matthew Knies has 3 goals.

Panthers vs Maple Leafs: Odds & Prediction

Florida is a -125 favorite while Toronto is a +105 underdog, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Panthers dominated Tampa Bay and are looking like a real threat to win back-to-back Stanley Cups. Florida plays a mean, tough game, and the Panthers were able to have success against Stolarz, who was the team's backup goalie last season.

Look for Florida to come out strong and be able to find the back of the net against Stolarz, as Toronto will get the win.

Prediction: Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 1.

Panthers vs Maple Leafs: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Florida ML (-125)

Tip 2: Under 5.5 goals (-120)

Tip 3: Sam Bennett 3+ shots on goal (-150)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton