The Florida Panthers are lagging way behind in the race to the top three spots in the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division, but they still have a great shot at landing a wild-card ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They can get two more points tonight when they take on the Minnesota Wild, who are in a tight race themselves for one of the top three seats in the Western Conference Central Division. With all that being said, let’s now take a look at our NHL odds series plus our Florida Panthers-Minnesota Wild prediction for this showdown scheduled at 8:00 PM ET.
Here are the Florida Panthers-Minnesota Wild NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Florida Panthers -Minnesota Wild Odds
Florida Panthers: +1.5 (-265)
Minnesota Wild: -1.5 (+210)
Over: 6.5 (-108)
Under: 6.5 (-112)
How To Watch Florida Panthers -Minnesota Wild
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 8:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Florida Panthers Could Cover The Spread
The Panthers cooled off a bit following a 5-3 loss to the reigning Stanley Cup champions Colorado Avalanche last Saturday. That loss punctuated Florida's otherwise successful five-game homestand during which the Panthers went 3-2-0 with an even strength 55.4 CF% and a 103.0 PDO. Notwithstanding the loss to the Avs, the Panthers are managing to find success on the offensive end of the rink. Over their last six outings, the Panthers have found the back of the net a total of 27 times even though their power play has been silent for the most part of that stretch. Florida potted just two power-play goals on 16 attempts on the man advantage.
The Panthers' second line of Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Bennett, and Matthew Tkachuk has been splendid of late, turning into a main driving force of Florida's offense. Bennett has three goals and two assists in the last five games while Verhaeghe and Tkachuk have combined for five goals and 12 assists over the same span. That said, the Panthers' top line isn't too shabby either. Aleksander Barkov has two goals and three assists while Sam Reinhart has three goals and two assists in the last five outings. Anton Lundell has gone scoreless through that course but has provided three helpers for the Panthers, who are sixth in the NHL so far in the 2022-23 NHL regular season with an average of 3.47 goals per contest.
Plus, Lundell was one of the five Panthers players who scored a goal in the team's 5-3 win over the Wild at home back in January. Reinhart had a goal and an assist while Barkov posted an assist in that contest as well. Underscoring the high-level threat of the Panthers' offense is the fact that it is third in the league in 5-vs-5 CF% (53.3) and No. 1 overall with a 131.1 5v5 expected goals for.
The Panthers hit the ice later tonight with a 7-3 record in their last 10 games following a contest in which they gave up at least five goals.
Why The Minnesota Wild Could Cover The Spread
The Wild are back to their winning ways after stopping the bleeding with a 3-2 shootout victory at home last Saturday against the New Jersey Devils. Prior to that, Minnesota suffered three straight defeats to the Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, and the Vegas Golden Knights by a combined score of 12-4. Even with the win against New Jersey, it's still hard to trust Minnesota's offense from producing at a comfortable level at the moment.
Having said that, the Wild don't always have to score a bunch of goals to win games. They have racked up 28 wins on the season despite a mediocre offense that is currently just 24th in the NHL this season with only 2.94 goals per game average. The Wild could see enough cracks in Florida's defense to take advantage of, though. In the first meeting this season with Florida, the Wild had a higher SF% (54.55%), HDCF% (53.33%), and CF% (53%) than the Panthers in even-strength situations.
Minnesota also recorded more total shots (53-47) and overall shots on goal (32-27). Filip Gustavsson started in front of the net for the Wild in that loss to Florida, but Minnesota could be having a different option at goalie later tonight — a much more experienced netminder in the form of Marc-Andre Fleury. The veteran has a 16-12-3 record so far this season to go with a 2.98 GA/G and a .902 SV%. For what it's worth, Andre-Fleury has a career record of 18-10-2 with a 2.30 GA/G and .922 in 31 total starts versus the Panthers.
The Wild have won seven of their last nine home games against the Panthers.
Final Florida Panthers-Minnesota Wild Prediction & Pick
Final Florida Panthers-Minnesota Wild Prediction & Pick: Over 6.5 (-108)
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