A couple of teams riding winning streaks, the Detroit Red Wings and the Florida Panthers collide at the BB&T Center for a divisional showdown. Fox Sports Detroit Plus will showcase the matchup, and the opening face-off is at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 3.
Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers Odds
Detroit (+125) is currently the underdog to Florida (-145) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Losing 6.9 units for moneyline bettors, the Panthers are 21-28 straight up (SU) overall this year. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with what the team produced during the 2016-17 season (35-47). Through 49 regular season outings, 27 of its games have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under and none have pushed. The teams 11-11 SU at home this year.
Florida has converted on just 16.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that places the team in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.4 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Florida has been penalized 4.6 times per game overall this season, and 5.6 per game over its past ten outings. The teams had to kill penalties for a whopping 19.5 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Averaging 27.7 saves per game with a .911 save percentage, James Reimer (13-19-5) has been the top goalkeeper for the Panthers this season. If they decide to give him the evening off, however, the team might roll with Roberto Luongo (6-9-9 record, .928 save percentage, 2.62 goals against average).
Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck will each be offensive focal points for the Panthers. Huberdeau (49 points) has tallied 17 goals and 32 assists and has recorded two or more points on 11 different occasions this year. Trocheck has 18 goals and 29 assists to his name and has notched a point in 34 contests.
Detroit is 21-29 straight up (SU) and has lost 7.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 27 of its games have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and none have pushed. Detroit’s 10-12 SU as a road team this season.
Detroit has converted on 18.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 21st overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
Detroit’s players have been penalized 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 2.6 per game over their past five contests. The teams been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jimmy Howard (26.2 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Detroit. Howard owns a 14-24-6 record, and has registered a .911 save percentage and 2.82 goals against average this year.
Dylan Larkin (eight goals, 30 assists) has been one of the top offensive facilitators for the visiting Red Wings.
Detroit Red Wings at Florida Panthers Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Panthers, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The total has gone over in four of Florida’s last five games.
- Florida’s attempted 34.6 shots per game overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 36.9 across their last 10 games.
- Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be key in the outcome of this matchup. The Red Wings are 8-11 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 14-20 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Panthers are 6-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 9-16 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Detroit is 4-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Florida is 2-3 in shootouts.
- Florida is ranked 8th this season with 8.4 takeaways per game. That figures trended lower lately, however, as the team has forced 5.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.2 takeaways over its last five.
- Detroit is ranked 21st with 6.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it has forced 7.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.6 takeaways over its last five.
