Edmonton Oilers vs. Florida Panthers Prediction, NHL Odds
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Nik Kowalski
Florida’s started their season 4-0-1 on home ice, and have yet to surrender more than three goals in any of their games. The Oilers come in averaging 3.67 goals per outing, which should make for a good test for the Panthers.
But at 8-7, Edmonton’s had an underwhelming first 15 games. The Oilers have allowed five or more goals in three of their four most recent outings, which includes a 7-2 loss at Carolina Thursday. Florida’s been off since Wednesday, and they had a better result against Carolina with a 3-0 shutout victory.
Puck drop at FLA Live Arena gets started at 4 p.m. EDT, with the home Panthers -160 on the moneyline and the over-under pegged at 7.0 on the NHL odds.
Oilers vs. Panthers NHL Betting Odds
The over’s all the way up at seven for this tilt and both clubs have been trending in that direction. Four of Edmonton’s last six outings have went over the total, as have five of Florida’s last seven games. The over has also connected in 10 of Edmonton’s last 15 meetings with an Eastern Conference opponent.
The sunshine state has been extremely kind to Edmonton too. The Oilers have come out winners in 11 of their last 12 visits to Florida, which is bad news for a Panthers squad yet to fall in regulation on home ice.
Edmonton Oilers
Connor McDavid’s goal-a-game pace continues to prove the league’s biggest star can do just about anything. McDavid potted his league-leading 15th of the season in Thursday’s loss at Carolina and assisted on Edmonton’s other goal, a Zach Hyman power-play tally. Jack Campbell picked up the loss in net as he continues to struggle heavily with an .873 save percentage in 10 appearances this year.
The defensive woes have yet again made a club with four point-per-game players sit barely above .500. McDavid’s now above two points per game with 31 in 15 games, followed by Leon Draisaitl’s 24 points, Hyman at 17, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at 16 points.
Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett each got much-needed third period goals in Florida’s shutout victory over Carolina Wednesday. Both goals were their third of the season, and more importantly ensured Florida got the two points. Spencer Knight was outstanding too with 40 saves, his first shutout of the year. Knight and Sergei Bobrovsky have essentially split Florida’s 14 outings so far, and Knight’s been the much better of the two with a .925 save percentage.
With a trio of assists Wednesday, defenceman Brandon Montour moved into second on the team with 15 points in just 12 games. Matthew Tkachuk leads the team with 17 points, and then Carter Verhaeghe is also off to a hot start with a team-best eight goals.
