Two teams squaring off for the second time this season, the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs face off at Air Canada Centre for a divisional showdown. The match gets started at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 20, and fans at home can watch it live on Fox SportsNet Florida.
Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs Odds
Toronto (-200) is currently favored over Florida (+170) and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-130 for the over, +110 for the under).
The Maple Leafs are 36-25 straight up (SU) and have earned moneyline bettors 4.1 units this season. That win percentage, ranked third in the Atlantic Division so far this season, is a welcome improvement compared to how the team performed during last year’s regular season (40-42). Out of its 61 regular season matches, 29 of them have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just four have pushed. The team’s 19-10 SU at home this season.
Toronto’s converted on 20.1 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Toronto has been penalized just 3.3 times per game overall this season, and 2.2 per game over its last five games at home. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 4.0 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Sporting a .921 save percentage and 31.4 saves per game, Frederik Andersen (30-20-4) has been the top option in goal for the Maple Leafs this season. If they, however, choose to give him the evening off, the team could turn to Curtis McElhinney (7-4-4 record, .932 save percentage, 2.24 goals against average).
The Leafs will continue to lean on the leadership out of Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner. Matthews (49 points) has tallied 27 goals and 22 assists and has recorded multiple points on 14 different occasions this year. Marner has 14 goals and 32 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 27 contests.
Florida is 26-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 31 of its matches have gone over the total, while 25 have gone under and none have pushed. Florida’s 13-18 SU as the road team this season.
Florida has converted on 19.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 22nd overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.3 percent of all opponent power plays.
Florida’s players have been whistled for penalties 4.5 times per game this season, and 5.2 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 16.0 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
James Reimer (27.9 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer has 15 wins, 20 losses, and five overtime losses to his credit, and has registered a .905 save percentage and 3.22 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Panthers, the offense will be coordinated by Aleksander Barkov (20 goals, 34 assists) and Jonathan Huberdeau (18 goals, 35 assists).
Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Maple Leafs, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Penalties and power plays could have a key role tonight. The Panthers are 8-15 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 11-17 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Maple Leafs are 13-9 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 26-23 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Toronto is 5-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Florida is 2-3 in shootouts.
- Toronto skaters have forced 8.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 8.1 takeaways per game (ranked 9th overall).
- Florida is ranked seventh in the league this season with 8.7 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it has created 9.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 9.6 takeaways over its last five.