Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers will do battle against Tomas Hertl, Brent Burns, and the San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center for an East-West showdown. The puck will drop at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 14, and it’ll be shown live on Fox SportsNet Florida.
Florida Panthers vs. San Jose Sharks Odds
The Sharks (-240) are tabbed as the big favorites over the Panthers (+200), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-130 over, +110 under).
San Jose is 43-27 straight up (SU) and has earned 3.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, the NHL’s second-best so far this season, is an improvement compared to what the team managed during the 2017-18 season (45-37). Through 70 regular season matches, 40 of its games have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 23-10 SU at home this year.
The Sharks have converted on 25.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s good enough for seventh-best in the league. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 12th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all penalties.
Sporting a .900 save percentage and 25.0 saves per game, Martin Jones (35 wins, 18 losses, and five OT losses) has been the primary option in goal for San Jose this year. If San Jose decides to rest him, however, head coach Peter Deboer could turn to Aaron Dell (10-11-11 record, .889 save percentage, 3.06 goals against average).
On the other bench, Florida is 30-39 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. Through 69 regular season matches, 38 of its games have gone over the total, while 24 have gone under the total and just seven have pushed. As the visiting team, the Panthers are 12-21 SU.
The Panthers currently have the second-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as they’ve found the net on 27.1 percent of their extra-man chances this year. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 12th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Roberto Luongo (.897 save percentage and 3.16 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Luongo is averaging 24.7 saves per game and has 15 wins, 22 losses, and five OT losses to his credit.
Florida Panthers at San Jose Sharks Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Sharks, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Two of the Panthers’ last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 0-2 in those games and 3-6 overall in shootouts this season.
- The over has hit in three of Florida’s last five outings.
- This game features two clubs that shoot the puck early and often. Florida has taken the league’s fifth-most shots on goal (33.2) while San Jose has attempted the third-most (33.6).
- Over San Jose’s last ten outings, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-2 in those games).
- Florida skaters recorded 20.2 hits per game last season, while the Sharks forced 18.4 hits per contest.
