Maple Leafs vs. Panthers NHL Pick – December 15th

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By Kyle E in NHL Picks —
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/> </div> <p></a></div> <p>The Toronto Maple Leafs came up short against the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 4-1. It looks worse than it really was. The Maple Leafs lost the game handily, but Andrei Vasilevskiy should have gotten the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd star. Toronto pumped out 49 shots in the losing effort, with Vasilevskiy making several key saves to keep the Leafs out of the contest. It wasn’t just shots that the Leafs were putting up, they were quality scoring chances, but the puck just wasn’t getting past Vasilevskiy. </p> <p>That was his first game back from injury, though you wouldn’t have known it from his performance. There was absolutely no rust to be had, as he looked like he was in mid-season form. That’s a game that likely would have been a lot closer of Louis Domingue was in net. No disrespect to Domingue, who held his own with Vasilevskiy on the mend, but he likely doesn’t make two or three extra saves there. If Vasilevskiy continues to play like that, the rest of the league is going to be on notice.</p> <p>The moral of the story here is that the Maple Leafs weren’t as bad as the score indicates. The Lightning tallied only 21 shots to the Leafs’ 49. That doesn’t always tell the whole story, but Toronto had their opportunities. As two frontrunners in the Eastern Conference, we may see them meet again in a much bigger capacity in the spring. </p> <p>The Maple Leafs stay in the state of Florida, as they turn their attention to Sunrise and the Florida Panthers. The Panthers are feeling some hurt going into tonight. They’re on a four-game losing streak and have losses in five of their previous six games. The game plan of overworking Roberto Luongo in net isn’t going to go anywhere fast. Bob Bougner will have to draw something up. He’ll need something to counter a high-octane Maple Leafs squad this evening. Head below for our free Maple Leafs vs. Panthers pick. </p> <h2 class=Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Florida Panthers Pick

The Panthers aren’t going to have Vasilevskiy to bail them out tonight. It would be nice if Luongo could turn in a similar performance, though. Luongo is coming off a loss against the Blues, 4-3, on the 11th. James Reimer got the nod in their next game and it was the same result, another loss for the Panthers. They took a 5-1 loss in that one to the Wild.

The Panthers have gone 3-7 in their last ten games, and now they welcome a hungry Leafs team who are looking to get a win back. Despite the loss, the Leafs have gone 6-3 in their last nine games, but have lost three of their last four games. In the Leafs and Panthers last meeting on March 28th, the Leafs came out victorious in Sunrise, 4-3.

Their offence has been sizzling this season, naturally with all of the talent on the ice. They’ve been better on the road as well, with 3.88 goals per game. Florida have surrendered an average of 3.57 goals for 27th in the NHL. Their defence and Luongo are going to have a challenge in this one.

Luongo’s numbers have slipped since a red-hot start in October. He owns a 3.03 GAA and 0.903 save percentage at the moment. Expect that to take another dive south with the Leafs in town Saturday night. Tough puck luck against the Lightning on Thursday, but look for them to bounce back with a win against the Panthers.

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Kyle E / Author

Kyle is a veteran of TheSportsGeek and has spent nearly a decade providing accurate sports picks and writeups here. He has been a sports handicapper for 10+ years and started sharing his picks and thoughts in 2011 at TheSportsGeek. His expertise spans across multiple sports, including the NFL, NCAAF, MLB, NHL, and horse racing. Prior to writing for TheSportsGeek, Kyle was a fantasy football expert, who ultimately parlayed it into a successful sports betting career. You can find his picks daily only at TheSportsGeek.

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