Toronto Maple Leafs vs Florida Panthers Prediction, Odds and Game 3 Picks for Friday, 05/09/25

The Toronto Maple Leafs certainly didn’t play perfectly in 2 games at home, but they posted a pair of victories against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers to grab a 2-0 series lead. Now the series shifts to Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. for Game 3 on Friday night. This is a little bit of unchartered territory for the Leafs, as they have 6 wins in the postseason — tying their most in a playoffs since 2004. That’s how futile the Leafs have been in the playoffs in recent years.

Florida posted 16 playoff wins en route to the Stanley Cup last season and 29 postseason victories combined in the past 2 years.  Toronto has just 28 playoff wins since the end of the 2012-13 season, so the Panthers know quite a bit more about winning in the playoffs lately. That’s why it feels likely that the Panthers defend home ice in Game 3 and do not fall into an untenable 3-0 series hole against the Maple Leafs. While there appears to be something different about this current installment of Leafs, it’s hard to shake history. I’m backing the Panthers on home ice.

Maple Leafs vs Panthers prediction: Florida 3-way ML (-140) available at time of publishing. Playable to -160.

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