Panthers Face Maple Leafs in Playoff Game 1 Tonight

The Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs begin their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series with the Panthers entering as slight road favorites, despite Toronto's strong home record and Florida missing key defender Aaron Ekblad for Game 1. Florida, the defending champions, recently eliminated Tampa Bay and lead the odds to win the Stanley Cup alongside the Carolina Hurricanes, reflecting a wide-open playoff field with no clear favorite. The Panthers have shown defensive strength, limiting Tampa Bay to two goals or fewer in most games, while Sergei Bobrovsky has posted strong numbers against Toronto this season. Toronto, under new coach Craig Berube, is expected to leverage a physical playing style, with Matthew Knies emerging as a key offensive contributor. The playoff landscape remains competitive, with Canadian teams like Toronto and Edmonton aiming to end the country's long Stanley Cup drought, and no teams playing each other in the second round. The series opens Monday night in Toronto, with high expectations for a closely contested matchup.