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It is quite startling to see the odds for Game 6 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
The Panthers are -240 favorites to win Friday night, with the Maple Leafs coming back as +195 underdogs.
Those are the sort of odds you’d see on a regular-season matchup between a team in first place and one near the bottom of the standings.
Is the betting market overreacting to an abysmal effort from Toronto on Wednesday?
Or are these odds a fair representation of what to expect in the first elimination game of this series?
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Maple Leafs vs. Panthers Game 6 betting preview
Like the Cowboys, Yankees, or Lakers, the Maple Leafs come under more pressure from the media than just about any team in the NHL. But the scrutiny is well deserved.
The Leafs have won just two playoff series since 2004, and the current generation’s postseason record is riddled with calamitous performances.
Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander are four of the highest-paid forwards in the NHL, but none of them has ever played beyond Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That’s what made Wednesday’s 6-1 defeat to the Panthers so shocking. It was a chance for “The Core Four” to rewrite their legacy; instead, they just added more fuel to the fire.
All of this added up to a maelstrom of criticism from the media and fanbase, and that seems to have seeped into the betting market.
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Maple Leafs vs. Panthers Game 6 pick
There’s no denying that the Panthers have taken control of this series, but Toronto is still a dangerous team.
The Leafs won the Atlantic Division during the regular season and had won 11 of their last 13 games before dropping three in a row to the Panthers.
Florida is the better team. The Panthers should be a clear favorite. But these odds are an overreaction.
The Play: Maple Leafs +195
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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