A couple of teams riding winning streaks, the Florida Panthers and the Arizona Coyotes take the ice at Gila River Arena. This East-West matchup will get underway at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 26 and it’ll be shown live on Fox Sports Arizona.
Florida Panthers vs. Arizona Coyotes Odds
Florida (+110) is currently the underdog to Arizona (-130), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting that total sit at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
Netting moneyline bettors 3.4 units, the Coyotes are 29-33 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a welcomed improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2017-18 season (29-53). Through 62 regular season outings, 33 of the team’s games have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just three have pushed. Thus far, the team’s 12-17 SU at home.
Arizona has converted on 17.3 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated second overall, and it’s successfully killed off 85.6 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Arizona has been called for penalties just 3.4 times per game overall this season, 3.0 per game over its past five games total, and 3.0 per game over its last five home outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays for just 6.0 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
With a .917 save percentage and 28.5 saves per game, Darcy Kuemper (17 wins, 19 losses, and five OT losses) has been the top goalkeeper for the Coyotes this season. If head coach Rick Tocchet decides to rest him, however, the Coyotes might turn to Antti Raanta (6-6-6 record, .906 save percentage, 2.88 goals against average).
The Coyotes will continue to lean on the offensive production from Clayton Keller and Alex Galchenyuk. Keller (39 points) has put up 12 goals and 27 assists and has recorded multiple points in seven different games this year. Galchenyuk has 14 goals and 21 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 24 contests.
On the other hand, Florida is 28-33 straight up (SU) and has lost 11.2 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of 31 of its outings have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under the total and just seven have pushed. Florida’s 12-17 SU as the visiting team this season.
Florida currently touts the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s scored on 26.3 percent of its extra-man chances in the 2018-19 season. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked eighth overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
Florida’s players have been called for penalties 3.4 times per game this season, 3.6 per game over their last five contests total, and 3.2 per game over their last five road outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays just 6.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
James Reimer (.901 save percentage and 3.05 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 24.1 saves per game and owns a 14-20-5 record.
For the visiting Panthers, the offense will be facilitated through Aleksander Barkov (25 goals, 40 assists) and Jonathan Huberdeau (17 goals, 43 assists).
Florida Panthers at Arizona Coyotes Betting Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Panthers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The total has gone under in four of Arizona’s last five outings.
- The Panthers have averaged the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (33.3) while Arizona has attempted the 22nd-most (only 30.7).
- Penalties and power plays may prove to be extremely important in this game. The Panthers are 14-17 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 18-23 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Coyotes are 10-20 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 17-26 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Florida is 3-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Arizona is 3-1 in shootouts.
- Arizona skaters have averaged 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.5 takeaways per game (ranked 25th in the NHL).
- One of the best teams at pressuring opposing offenses, Florida is ranked fifth this season with 9.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward, as the team has forced 10.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.8 takeaways over its last five.
