Oddsmakers Share Some Exciting News About the Toronto Maple Leafs

After taking down the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Maple Leafs booked their ticket for a second round matchup against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

While the Panthers didn't have the best regular season, they were reinforced by the trade deadline acquisition of Brad Marchand and the return of Matthew Tkachuk after a lengthy absence on the Long-Term Injured Reserve.

Florida also took care of business in the 'Battle of Florida' as they took down the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning in just 5 games. Many had pegged the Lightning to not only win the series, but even advance to the Finals.

On the other side of the equation, despite the Leafs winning the Atlantic Division, they were given a measly 38% chance of dispatching the Panthers and advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.

All that has now changed after the Leafs took the first two games on home-ice. According to Polymarket Sports, "the most accurate sports odds and forecasts in the world", they have now given the Leafs a 67% chance of winning the series.

If trends and history are to be believed, the hockey gods could be favouring the Maple Leafs for once as they are 11-0 all-time when up ahead 2-0 in a best-of-7 series and have won the Stanley Cup all 5 times when they have jumped ahead 2-0 in both rounds 1 and 2. Conversely, Florida is 0-5 all-time when trailing a best-of-7 series by that mark.

The Maple Leafs have delivered two very strong performances and have the opportunity to claim an almost insurmountable 3-0 lead later tonight when the two rivals face-off in enemy territory.

The Panthers are a feisty team and know what it takes to go all the way as evidenced by their domination of the Eastern Conference over the last 2 years. Expect Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, and Brad Marchand to impose their will tonight, which is something the Maple Leafs have done a good job in dealing with so far in the series.