Montreal Canadiens vs. Florida Panthers Prediction, NHL Odds
Florida will be playing the second half of a back-to-back set and has a chance to pass the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. On the other hand, Montreal is trying to avoid a sixth straight loss to the Panthers, visiting their den on a Saturday night.
The puck will drop at 7:00 PM EST at the BB&T Center in Sunrise Florida. Keep updated on our Moneyline, Puckline and Over/Under for Sunday’s matchup on our NHL odds.
Canadiens vs. Panthers NHL Betting Odds
Florida has picked apart the Canadiens’ defence and goaltending over the past two seasons, averaging over six goals in their past five games. There’s not much more the Canadiens need to do other than stop the high-powered Panthers offence that has taken the past five head-to-heads.
Tonight is their second meeting of the season after the Cats handed Montreal a 5-1 beating earlier this month. Aleksander Barkov, Evan Rodrigues and Carter Verhaeghe each had a goal and assist in the game and Johnathan Kovacevic scored the lone marker for the Habs.
The Over/Under is 7-1-1 in the past nine matchups between these squads, dating back to New Year’s Day of 2022. In the same nine meetings, Florida is 7-2.
Despite being in the bottom five league-wide in scoring, the Canadiens have played the OVER in four of their past five games, while posting a 3-1-1 record in that set. They are averaging just 2.8 goals per game while giving up 3.4, proving that when the offence has an off night, they are not likely to win the game. Montreal has had a knack for staying in games all season, posting a 21-13 record ATS, seven of which came in the past 10.
The Panthers covered in each of their wins on their current three-game win streak, boosting their record ATS to 17-18 on the year. Florida was almost a sure bet to hit the OVER last season but has begun to focus more on the defensive side of the puck this season, posting a 14-21 on the total. At 2.4 goals against per game, the Panthers have the third-best defence in the league.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal returned from the holiday break in Carolina on Thursday night to face the Hurricanes. The Canadiens dug themselves into a hole, going down 2-0 halfway through the first, but goals from Mitchel Stephens (2) and Mike Matheson (6) got them back to even by the end of the first frame.
The Canes scored the lone goal in the second putting them back in front. The Habs battled back again as Josh Anderson kept his momentum going from before Christmas, notching his sixth goal of the campaign and tying things up in the first 25 seconds of the third. The Canes offence could not be contained though and would score two more in the final period for the 5-3 final.
After just a single empty-net goal through the first 29 games, Anderson now has five goals and six points in the team’s past five games.
Amid his sophomore season, 2022’s first overall draft pick Juraj Slafkovsky took a hit to the head on Thursday night and was pulled from the game. He has already picked up 14 points this season surpassing his 10-point total in 39 games last season.
Florida Panthers
Playing against the best team in the league, the Panthers had to strike first which is exactly what they did last night versus the New York Rangers. Evan Rodrigues scored his seventh of the year in the last minutes of the first period to put the Cats ahead before the red-hot Sam Reinhart sniped his 22nd of the campaign to put them up two. After the Rangers answered with a pair of their own goals, Reinhart struck again (23) on the man advantage to regain the lead. Carter Verhaeghe (17) scored the fourth and final goal for the Cats, giving them a 4-3 victory.
There is something about Florida that can turn players into elite goal-scorers, year after year. With six goals in the past five games, Reinhart who has never scored more than 25 in a season before joining the team, is now on pace to score 54 goals this season.
A win tonight and a Bruins loss would move the Panthers into first place in the Atlantic for the first time this season. After a tough start to the year, Florida is beginning to look like a force in the Eastern Conference.