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The second round of the 2025 NHL Playoffs begins Monday, May 5, with the defending champion Florida Panthers traveling across the border to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. Florida made quick work of its in-state rivals, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games to advance. The Maple Leafs needed six games to knock off their provincial rival Ottawa after grabbing a 3-0 lead on the Senators. Toronto and Florida played in the second round two postseasons ago, with the Panthers winning that series 4-1. This is the fourth season in a row Florida has made it to at least the second round, while Toronto is making its second appearance in the last three playoffs. Prior to 2022-23, the Maple Leafs had not made it past the second round since 2003-04.
Florida Panthers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN
Even though the Maple Leafs have home ice in this series, the Panthers won three of the four meetings between the teams during the regular season. Florida has one of the most balanced rosters in the league, with six players posting five or more points in the first round and three players scoring three goals each. Toronto’s “Big 3” of William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews did plenty of heavy lifting in the first round with 24 combined points, but the Maple Leafs also got solid contributions from John Tavares and Matthew Knies. Marner had seven assists against Ottawa, and he is likely to be a priority for the Panthers when it comes to containment. Marner led the Maple Leafs with 102 points during the regular season, with 75 of those coming on assists. Florida will be without key defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who is serving a suspension for a hit in the first round.
Former Panther Anthony Stolarz is in goal for Toronto and is coming off an up-and-down series against the Senators. He gave up just six goals over the first three games before conceding eight goals in the next two contests. On the other side, Sergei Bobrovsky was more consistent in the first round against Tampa Bay, with just 12 goals allowed over five games. Bobrovsky was the star of Florida’s title run a year ago, allowing two goals or fewer in 14 of the team’s 24 postseason games.
The Panthers are -126 favorites (risk $126 to win $100) on the money line in the latest SportsLine consensus odds, while the Maple Leafs are +106 (risk $100 to win $106) underdogs. The total comes in at 5.5, with the Over priced at +100.
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