The Florida Panthers continue their four-game road trip with a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.

Florida lost its first game of the trip on Wednesday night in Ottawa 5-1.

On the other side, the Penguins return home after a four-game road trip against Western conference opponents.

It is the first meeting of the season between these two teams. Pittsburgh has won the last three meetings, including a 5-2 win in the most recent matchup back on April 5.

Panthers vs. Penguins NHL Betting Odds

Money Line: Panthers (-105), Penguins (-115)

Puck Line: Panthers +1.5 (-150), Penguins -1.5 (+205)

Goal Total: Over 6.5 (-135)/ Under 6.5 (+114)

Oddsmakers expect a closely-contested battle. Playing on home ice, Pittsburgh enters with moneyline odds of -115, while Florida is -105 to find the win column.

On the puck line, Penguins -1.5 is valued at +205, while Panthers +1.5 is -150. The game total is set at 6.5, with odds of -135 on the Over and +114 on the Under.

At +150, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby has the shortest odds of any player to score a goal in this contest. Crosby scored 29 goals last season, and at age 39, has three goals through 10 games to start the new season.

Also with odds of +150, Florida’s Brady Tkachuk has the shortest odds of any Panther to score a goal in the contest.

Tkachuk started slow with his new team, but has found a major groove with seven goals over his last four games. That includes back-to-back hat-tricks last week against the Blue Jackets and Canucks.

Florida Panthers

The Panthers enter this matchup on the second half of a road back-to-back. Florida lost 5-1 to Ottawa on Wednesday night in what was Brady Tkachuk’s return to the Canadian Tire Centre. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Panthers.

Florida’s first season with the Tkachuk brothers is off to a 5-3-2 start. Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers with 15 points on three goals and 12 assists. Brady leads the team with seven goals, and scored Florida’s lone goal in Wednesday’s loss to Ottawa.

Florida’s goaltending situation involves a tandem between Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid. Markstrom owns a 2.21 goals-against average and .897 save percentage, while Schmid is sporting a 3.62 goals-against average and .867 save percentage.

The Panthers have been bit by the injury bug again early this season. Aleksander Barkov and Brad Marchand have both landed on IR, and won’t be available for this Thursday night matchup against Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are happy to return home after a dreadful four-game west coast road trip. Pittsburgh lost all four games to the Blackhawks, Avalanche, Golden Knights, and Mammoth, and are now 3-6-1 on the season.

Veteran defenceman Erik Karlsson leads the Penguins with 11 points on a goal and 10 assists. Evgeni Malkin paces Pittsburgh with five goals through 10 games to start the season.

In net, Arturs Silovs is 3-3-0 with a 3.51 goals-against average and .866 save percentage. Sergei Murashov is 0-3-1 with a 3.50 goals-against average and .883 save percentage. As a team, Pittsburgh is allowing 3.70 goals per game, which ranks 27th in the NHL.

Ben Kindel landed on IR earlier this week, while Bryan Rust and Samuel Girard are both considered day-to-day heading into this matchup.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Panthers vs. Penguins?

The Penguins are in a major rut, and returning home may not be enough to get them back on track.

Pittsburgh is simply giving up way too many Grade A scoring chances, and both goaltenders have struggled mightily.

The Panthers suffered a tough loss on Wednesday, but they seem to be in a solid position to bounce back.

Best Bet: Florida Panthers

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