On Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers will compete in a highly anticipated matchup between the top two teams in the Atlantic Division. While the Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Maple Leafs are sitting atop the division with a record of 13-6-2 that's seen them win four straight.
On the flip side, after a hot start to the year, the Panthers struggled to maintain consistency. The team has lost four straight, with the third-place Tampa Bay Lightning now nipping at their heels.
The Maple Leafs have a slew of players listed on their injury report. Auston Matthews, Max Pacioretty, Calle Jarnkrok, David Kampf, Max Domi, and Matthew Knies are all listed on the injured reserve list, while Ryan Reaves is listed as out.
In addition, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is day-to-day but is likely to play in tonight's game after participating in practice on Saturday following an illness.
Assuming he is the only player on this injury report to play tonight, the Maple Leafs lines are projected to be as follows:
Forwards:
- LW Bobby McMann - C John Tavares - RW Mitch Marner
- LW Nicholas Robertson - C Pontus Holmberg - RW William Nylander
- LW Nikita Grebenkin - C Fraser Minten - RW Alex Nylander
- LW Alexander Steeves - C Connor DeWar - RW Steven Lorentz
Defense:
- Morgan Rielly - Oliver Ekman-Larsson
- Jake McCabe - Chris Tanev
- Simon Benoit - Conor Timmins
Goalies:
- Joseph Woll
- Anthony Stolarz
Powerplay:
- Fraser Minten, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander
- Nicholas Robertson, Bobby McMann, Alex Nylander, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, William Nylander
Penalty Kill:
- Pontus Holmberg, Mitch Marner, Jake McCabe, Chris Tanev
- Fraser Minten, Steven Lorentz, Simon Benoit, Conor Timmins
Odds for tonight's Maple Leafs vs Panthers game as well as upcoming games on Toronto's schedule
The defending Stanley Cup Champions are sitting as betting favorites on most major US sportsbooks. On Bally Bet, the Panthers are -141 favorites while the Maple Leafs are +117 underdogs.
These odds are the same as those seen on BetRiver, where the Panthers remain slight favorites even though the team is heading into tonight's game in the midst of a losing streak.
To simplify these numbers, it would take a $141 bet on Florida as the favorite to win $100, whereas a $100 bet on Toronto as the underdogs would win $117 based on the current odds.
Following tonight's game, Toronto will head to Tampa Bay for a meeting with the Lightning on Saturday, Nov. 30. From there, the team will head back home for a three-game stretch to kick off the month of December with games against the Blackhawks on Dec. 2, the Predators on Dec. 4, and the Capitals on Dec. 6.