Ryan Hodges
What a rollercoaster of a series this Eastern Conference semifinal has been between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers. It is only fitting that this one goes to a seventh and deciding game. The Leafs are trying to overcome familiar playoff demons, while the Panthers are trying to keep the status quo on the back of consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances. This is a highly anticipated Game 7 between a couple of talented teams with intriguing story lines. Hopefully, you can knock out any chores or obligations and tune in. If you want to add some intrigue and make a play or 2, here are a couple picks we like both individually and as a Same Game Parlay at +425 odds.
You can also find out our NHL picks for this matchup.
Panthers -1.5 (+195)
Sam Reinhart anytime goalscorer (+165)
Panthers vs Maple Leafs Same Game Parlay odds: +425
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Panthers -1.5 (+195)
There is too much of a sample size for both teams over the years to comfortably take a flyer on the Maple Leafs. Their playoff struggles as a franchise have been well-documented and are the primary reason they are an easier fade than the Panthers. In what is now the ninth consecutive playoff appearance for Toronto, this is the 2nd time they have reached the second round — in which they lost in 5 games in 2023 to this Panthers team. Florida, by contrast, has won 9 out of its last 11 playoff series. Obviously that includes consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances in the last 2 years and their cup win last summer. Could this be a new Maple Leafs team? Sure. But the hockey world has thought that nearly every year for the last decade. The Panthers are the more reliable play.
Any appeal to the Maple Leads due to home-ice advantage is neutralized by their non-competitive 6-1 loss at home in Game 5. Add to that the pressure they will be under to exercise these playoff demons in front of their home crowd, and it looks even better for Florida. The Panthers have much less to lose, have been in this position plenty of times and have had strong playoff performances on the road. They won’t feel near the stress the Leafs will feel. Taking a chance on the Leafs, given their history, only for the Panthers to win yet another big game and series, given their history, would feel like the obvious betting win slipped away. The Panthers are worth the play and have good value to win by multiple goals for the third time in a potential 4 series game wins.
Sam Reinhart anytime goalscorer (+165)
Regardless of the outcome of this game, there are several realistic goalscorers on both sides given the sheer level of talent on each side. But in a Panthers game-winning script, who better to get on the scoreboard than Sam Reinhart? Reinhart is no stranger to the big moment. He leads the Panthers with 10 points in the 11 Florida games played this postseason. That contributes 24 goals and 43 points in 66 career playoff games. The most notable of those goals was the game winner in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Oilers last June. Reinhart also leads the team with 40 shots on goal in these playoffs, as well as ice-time per game among Panthers forwards by a full 1:30 per game over the next forward, Aleksander Barkov.
In addition to Reinhart’s 21:28 of ice per game, which is good for the third-most minutes on the team, he finds himself in a great position on Florida’s top line and top powerplay. At any time, he will be sharing the ice with some combination of Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Carter Verhaeghe, Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad all among other stellar Panthers players. The added ice time in a high-leverage game, along with playing with talented teammates, lend to Reinhart being in a prime position to garner scoring opportunities. This is a guy who scored 57 goals last year and 39 this year as part of 4 consecutive 30+ goal seasons, as well as the ninth year in his 10 career years of scoring 20+ goals. Reinhart is as reliable as they come and feels as likely as anyone to score again in another big game.
