The Stanley Cup Playoffs resume tonight, and the Oilers are looking to be the first team to punch a ticket to the Conference Final round. They'll take on the Golden Knights in Sin City, but before that, the action opens up with a thrilling matchup between the Panthers and the Maple Leafs. Below I'll dive into each game from a sports betting perspective and let you know where I'm laying my money on the ice for Panthers vs. Maple Leafs.
Wednesday's NHL Best Bets: Panthers vs. Maple Leafs
(Odds courtesy of BetMGM)
Panthers vs. Maple Leafs
After dropping the first two games of the series, the Panthers (2-2) bounced back with a pair of home wins over the Maple Leafs (2-2) in Sunrise, Florida. The series shifts back north, and tonight's Game 5 gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET from Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON.
After seeing 26 combined goals through the first three games of this series, we finally were treated to some quality defense in Game 4, with the contest ending 2-0 in favor of Florida. Things are only going to tighten up as the series goes deeper, and this may be the last time we get the chance to bet an under at six goals (i.e., it'll be 5.5 moving forward). I'm taking the under.
In terms of expected goals per 60 minutes during 5-on-5 play, the Maple Leafs are the worst of the 16 playoff teams at just 1.84 goals. Being that Sergei Bobrovsky, who went 23-for-23 (1.000 SV%) in Game 4, is finding his form, I don't anticipate Toronto finding a ton of offensive success in this game. Furthermore, both of these penalty-killing units have been excellent during the playoffs. Florida is third (87.88%), while Toronto is fifth (79.31%). This feels like a game where we have a ceiling of 4-2, but I think we finish closer to the 3-1 or 3-2 range and stay under the total.
Bet: Under 6.0 Goals (-120)
