The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have already provided thrilling action and another highly-anticipated series will begin on Monday. Game 1 of a second-round matchup between the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs will take place at Scotiabank Arena at 8 p.m. ET. The Panthers dispatched the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games to earn their way into the second round of the 2025 NHL Playoffs, while the Maple Leafs beat the Ottawa Senators in six games.
For Game 1 of Toronto vs. Florida, Florida is a -126 favorite on the money line (risk $130 to win $100) in the latest Maple Leafs vs. Panthers odds at Caesars Sportsbook, while Toronto is the +110 underdog (risk $100 to win $110). The over/under for total goals scored is 5.5, and the Panthers are -1.5 (+200) on the puck line. Before making any Panthers vs. Maple Leafs picks, be sure to see the NHL predictions from SportsLine’s proven model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NHL game 10,000 times. It entered the second full week of the 2025 NHL playoffs a combined 78-55 on top-rated NHL puck line and over/under betting picks, returning more than $1,500 for $100 players. Anybody following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns. Now, here are its three best bets for Jets vs. Blues on Sunday:
Maple Leafs money line (+110)
The Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions, but Toronto certainly had the better overall season in 2024-25. The Maple Leafs won the Atlantic Division handily and finished second in the Eastern Conference with 108 points while Florida only managed 98 and finished third in the division.
The Panthers did win three of four during the regular season but they will be without top-line defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who is serving a two-game suspension for elbowing Brandon Hagel in Game 4 of the series with Tampa Bay. The model predicts that Toronto wins this matchup in 49% of simulations, meaning the +110 you can find at Caesars is a slight value.
You’ve seen one of the best bets for Maple Leafs vs. Panthers on Monday. Now, get picks for every game from the model that is on a 78-55 run on over/under and puck-line picks.
Mitchell Marner Under 1.5 points (-225)
This is a lot of juice to pay, but this is the only NHL player prop being offered that the model has a five-star rating on. Marner has gone under on his points total in four of his last five games and he’s only managed two points in one of his last nine matchups with the Panthers.
Florida absolutely shut down the Tampa Bay power play in the first round, killing off 15 penalties in a row at one point with Tampa Bay finishing the series 2-for-18 with a man advantage. Marner scored 33 of his 102 points this season on the power play. Against Florida’s shutdown special teams unit, the model predicts 0.3 points on average for Marner and BetMGM has the best price here.
Matthew Tkachuk Over 2.5 shots on goal (-135)
Tkachuk missed 30 games during the regular season but still managed 57 points and put 156 shots on net in 52 games. That averages out to three shots on goal per night and he had three shots on goal in the only game that he played against the Maple Leafs this season. Tkachuk has registered at least three shots on goal in eight consecutive games against Toronto and he’s averaged 4.5 shots on goal during that span. The model predicts 3.1 shots on average and DraftKings Sportsbook has the best price for this NHL prop.
Want more NHL picks for Monday? Matt Severance is SportsLine’s No. 1 NHL expert, going 138-66-7 in his last 209 NHL sides, returning $3,649.50 for $100 players. You can find all of his NHL picks at SportsLine.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
