Two of the NHL’s most-lethal teams on the power play, the Florida Panthers and the Pittsburgh Penguins clash at PPG Paints Arena. AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will air this Eastern Conference matchup, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 8.
Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Florida (+160) is playing the role of underdog to Pittsburgh (-185), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals. If bettors want to wager on the matchup’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -110 for the over and -110 for the under.
The Penguins are 23-19 straight up (SU) and have not been kind to moneyline bettors (returning -9.1 units) thus far. That early-season winning percentage isn’t too far off from to the 47-35 record the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Of its 42 games this season, 19 have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just five have pushed. The team is 12-10 SU at home this year.
Pittsburgh’s converted on 26.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.6 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Pittsburgh has been penalized just 3.2 times per game overall this season, and 2.0 per game over its last five outings at home. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays for just 6.2 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, overall.
Averaging 27.1 saves per game with a .924 save percentage, Casey DeSmith (12-14-4) has been the primary option in goal for the Penguins this year. If they decide to give him a rest, however, head coach Mike Sullivan might roll with Matt Murray (11-7-7 record, .913 save percentage, 2.89 goals against average).
Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel will both lead the offensive attack for the Penguins. Crosby (51 points) has produced 19 goals and 32 assists and has recorded two or more points in 18 different games this year. Kessel has 17 goals and 30 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 27 contests.
Florida has lost 12.3 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year and is currently 17-23 straight up (SU). Through 40 regular season contests, 23 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under the total and just three have pushed. Florida’s 9-12 SU as the road team this season.
Florida has scored on 27.8 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the top-five among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.2 percent of all penalties.
Florida’s players have been penalized 3.6 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over their past five match ups. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
James Reimer (3.22 goals against average and .895 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 23.0 saves per game and owns a 9-14-4 record.
Jonathan Huberdeau (11 goals, 35 assists) has been one of the top offensive playmakers for the visiting Panthers.
Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five matchups.
- Two clubs that attempt a heavy amount of shots on goal, Florida has attempted the league’s fourth-most shots on goal (34.1) and Pittsburgh has attempted the 10th-most (32.6).
- The Panthers are 10-13 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 8-18 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Florida is 2-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Pittsburgh is 1-2 in shootouts.
- Pittsburgh skaters have created 7.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 8.7 takeaways per game (ranked 9th in the NHL).
- Florida is ranked sixth in the league this season with 8.8 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as the team has averaged 6.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.4 takeaways over its last five.
