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Two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference face off as the Florida Panthers visit the New York Rangers. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Panthers-Rangers prediction and pick.
The Panthers come into the game sitting at 4-3-1 on the year. They are coming off a loss though. Last time out, the Panthers faced the Wild. The Wild got up 2-0 in the first period and would continue to struggle in the second quarter. It was 5-1 in the second period, and the Panthers would fall 5-1 to the Wild. Meanwhile, the Rangers have yet to lose in regulation. They have won four straight, with the only loss of the year coming in overtime to Utah. They dominated the Canadiens last time out, taking a 4-1 lead in the first period, and would go on to win 6-2.
Here are the Panthers-Rangers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Panthers-Rangers Odds
Florida Panthers: +1.5 (-205)
Moneyline: +125
New York Rangers: -1.5 (+168)
Moneyline: -150
Over: 5.5 (-120)
Under: 5.5 (-102)
How To Watch Panthers vs Rangers
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: ESPN+
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why the Panthers Could Cover the Spread/Win
Article Continues Below
The Panthers bring back their top guys from last year's Cup team. Sam Reinhart comes back to lead the first line. Last year he led the team with 57 goals while adding 37 assists, good for 94 total points. Reinhart has been great this year, with five goals and seven assists on the season. He has a goal on the power play and two shorthanded. He is joined on the top line by Eetu Luostarinene and Anton Lundell. Luostarinen has three goals on the year, while Lundell has four goals and four assists.
The second line features Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, and Matthew Tkachuk. Bennett has continued to play well this year. He has five goals and three assists this year. Meanwhile, Tkachuk has three assists on the year, while Verhaeghe has four assists on the year. The Panthers also get production from the blue line. Gustav Forsling has two goals and two assists on the year, while Aaron Ekbald had three assists on the year.
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to be in goal for the Panthers in this one. He is 3-2-1 on the year with a 3.47 goals-against average and a .875 save percentage. Bobrovsky struggled last time out. He played in just two periods, giving up five goals on 16 shots. He has struggled a fair amount this year. In four of the six starts this year, he has a save percentage under .890.
Why the Rangers Could Cover the Spread/Win
The top line of the Rangers is led by Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere. Panarin led the team in goals, points, and assists last year. He has 49 goals, 71 assists, and 120 total points. He has been great this year, with six goals and seven assists on the year. Trocheck was second on the team in points last year. He had 25 goals and 52 assists last year, good for 77 total points. Trocheck has two goals and five assists this year. Finally, Lafreniere had 28 goals and 29 assists last year, while he also had been solid to start the year. He has three goals and three assists this year.
The second line is home to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. Kreider was third on the team in points last year. He had 39 goals and 36 assists last year, good for 75 total points. Kreider has been great this year, with five goals on the season, including one on the powerplay and one shorthanded. Zibanejad had 26 goals and 46 assists last year. He has two goals and four assists on the year.
Igor Shesterkin will be in goal for this one for the Rangers. He has been great this year, going 4-0-1 with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. Last time out, he stopped 21 of 23 shots in the win over the Canadiens. Still, that was his worst performance outside the loss in overtime to Utah. Bobrovsky has been over .910 in save percentage in four of the last five games.
Final Panthers-Rangers Prediction & Pick
The odds in this early season NHL game do favor the Rangers. Still, the Panthers are scoring well this year. They are scoring three goals per game this year. Still, the Rangers are scoring at a great rate this year. They are scoring 5.17 goals per game this year while sitting fifth in the NHL on the power play this year. Further, the major difference in this game will be on defense. They are fourth in the NHL allowing just four goals per game while sitting seventh on the penalty kill this year. The Panthers are giving up over 3.5 goals per game this year. Take the Rangers in this one.
Final Panthers-Rangers Prediction & Pick: Rangers ML (-150)
