Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers Prediction 5/16/25 NHL Picks

The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Florida Panthers meet Friday in NHL action from the Amerant Bank Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers prediction.

Series Recap

The Florida Panthers took a 3-2 lead in the series after pummeling the Leafs 6-1 in game five last time out. Aaron Ekblad opened the scoring for the Panthers with the lone goal of the opening period before Dmitry Kulikov doubled Florida’s lead just 6:08 into the second period. Jesper Boqvist made it 3-0 Toronto less than four minutes later and just under another four minutes later, Niko Mikkola pushed the lead to 4-0 in favor of the Cats. AJ Greer made it 5-0 Florida 6:23 into the 3rd and Sam Bennett added a power play goal just 2:47 later to push the lead to 6-0 before Nick Robertson snapped Sergei Bobrovsky’s shutout streak with a goal with 1:06 to play as a consolation tally.

Maple Leafs Trying To Force Game 7

Mitch Marner has a team-high 102 points with 27 goals and a team-high 75 assists while William Nylander has 84 points with a team-high 45 goals. John Tavares has 74 points with 38 goals and 36 assists and Auston Matthews has 78 points with 33 goals and 45 assists. Matthew Knies has 58 points with 29 goals while Morgan Rielly has 41 points with 7 goals and 34 assists as well on the year. Anthony Stolarz has gone 21-8-3 on the year in goal for Toronto with a 2.14 GAA and a .926 save percentage while Joseph Woll is 27-14-1 with a 2.73 GAA and a .909 save percentage and Dennis Hildeby has a 3-3 record, a 3.33 GAA and an .878 save percentage.

Why the Toronto Maple Leafs will win

• The Panthers have lost each of their last three games as favorites following a road win.
• The Maple Leafs have won 12 of their last 16 games as underdogs following a home loss.
• The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in eight of their last nine games as favorites following a road win.
• The Maple Leafs have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight road games against Eastern Conference opponents.

Toronto Maple Leafs Player Prop Facts

• Auston Matthews has scored a goal in four of his last five appearances in Game 6s of a playoff series.
• Mitch Marner has recorded at least one assist in six of the Maple Leafs’ last seven games as road underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
• Mitch Marner has recorded at least one point in 15 of the Maple Leafs’ last 17 road games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• William Nylander ranks T1st in the league for multi-goal games (10) this season.

Panthers Looking To Make It Back To Eastern Conference Finals

Sam Reinhart has a team-high 81 points including 39 goals and 42 assists while Sam Bennett has 51 points with 25 goals and 26 assists and Anton Lundell has 45 points of his own with 17 goals and 28 assists. Aleksander Barkov also has 71 points with 51 assists of his own while Carter Verhaeghe has 53 points with 20 goals and 33 assists and Matthew Tkachuk has 57 points with 22 goals and 35 assists. Sergei Bobrovsky is 33-19-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .906 save percentage in goal for Florida this season. Vitek Vanecek is also 2-4-1 with a 3.00 GAA and an .890 save percentage in goal for the Panthers this year.

Why the Florida Panthers will win

• The Panthers have won each of their last eight night games at Amerant Bank Arena against opponents on a losing streak.
• The Maple Leafs have lost each of their last six games at Amerant Bank Arena.
• The Panthers have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight games against the Maple Leafs at Amerant Bank Arena.
• The Maple Leafs have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last five games at Amerant Bank Arena following a loss.

Florida Panthers Player Prop Facts

• Carter Verhaeghe has scored a goal in each of his last six appearances in night games at Amerant Bank Arena.
• Aaron Ekblad has recorded at least one assist in nine of his last 10 appearances in night games.
• Aleksander Barkov has recorded at least one point in each of his last 11 appearances in night games at Amerant Bank Arena.
• Aleksander Barkov ranks T1st in the league for shootout goals (4) this season.

Total Goals Facts

• Seven of the Panthers’ last eight games against Atlantic Division opponents have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Seven of the Maple Leafs’ last eight games as underdogs against opponents on a winning streak have gone OVER the total goals line.
• Six of the last seven games between two teams from the Atlantic Division have gone OVER the total goals line.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers Prediction

I’m taking the Maple Leafs here. It’s do or die for Toronto in this one, and while the Panthers have all of the momentum, this is the kind of game that the Leafs win when no one expects it and when they pull something like they did in game 5. The Panthers should be favored at home and big, but with their season on the line and a furious fan base, I think the Leafs force game 7. Give me the Maple Leafs in this one.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs +200