BEST LINES: Pinnacle -½ +111  Bet365 -½ +100 SportsInteraction -½ -110 Betfair -½ +102

Posted at 1:30 PM EST

Regulation only. The Maple Leafs played their best game in weeks on Monday against Minnesota but still lost 2-1. The Leafs best player was David Booth. Who will it be tonight? Tim Erixon? Sam Carrick? Richard Panik? Leo Komarov? Eric Brewer? Joakim Lindstrom? Trevor Smith? A repeat performance here like the one against Minnesota and the Leafs have an outside chance of winning but we wouldn’t count on it. More likely is that the Leafs get outworked, outplayed and out-desired by this superior team. We’ve said everything we need to about the Maple Leafs and we’re not about to switch gears now. Fading the Maple Leafs has been a cash cow and so we’ll continue to fade them.

The Panthers went into Tampa Bay on Tuesday and fell behind 2-0 very early before rallying for a 3-2 lead heading to the third period. They dominated the Bolts after those first 10 minutes and ended up outshooting them, 36-25. The only reason the Panthers lost was because Roberto Luongo was sleeping on three goals. Luongo is always a concern but the Maple Leafs are scoring at a snails pace these days so hopefully Luongo will come up with a decent save every once in a while. We can’t stress enough how undervalued these Panthers are. This team is so talented that it’s scary. From its defense to its top two lines to its third and fourth lines, Florida is on the verge of exploding. It’s not going to happen this year because right now they are paying their dues but that doesn’t mean they’re going to fade out of the playoff picture. Chances are they won’t make the playoffs but they’re not going down without a fight. The Panthers, with a little puck luck like the Senators have received lately, could conceivably be on a 12 game winning streak right now. That was the last time they lost by more than a goal. Over their last 12 games, the Panthers have victories over Detroit, Boston, Tampa Bay, Winnipeg and the Islanders. They also have one-goal losses to the Rangers, Bolts, Canadiens and Stars over that same span. The only way we lose this bet is if Jonathan Bernier has a monster game while Luongo is below average again but in no way is that going to prevent us from stepping in.