Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Penguins vs Panthers NHL Odds
Looking for Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers free hockey plays & NHL odds? NHL betting sees the Penguins taking on the Panthers on Thursday, October 14th at the FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida. Cappers Picks provides complimentary handicapping picks all NHL season long including all NHL hockey games so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Penguins Panthers matchup.
(0-0) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers (0-0)
Date: Wednesday, October 14th
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, Florida
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Penguins +155, Panthers -180 (Bet Now!)
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Penguins +1.5 -160, Panthers -1.5 +135
NHL Betting Total: O/U 6.5
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I’m pretty surprised this line got pushed up so high after the Penguins unexpectedly blasted the defending champs for six goals two days ago. This Panthers team should be good this year, but it is their first game so who knows what we’ll get.
If Pittsburgh plays anything like they did last game, watch out. Without Crosby, Malkin, and Guentzel they managed to win 6-2 on the road against one of the top teams in the league.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh ended on top of the division last year tied with the Capitals with 77 points. However, they finished 19th in the league in percentage of expected goals (data from Natural Stat Trick).
While I’m not too high on the Penguins coming into this season, they already impressed me by showing me they can win in other ways besides their skill players scoring at above-average rates. Their goaltending isn’t good enough to win consistently while letting their opponents get the majority of the good scoring chances. Plenty of other decent teams play like this too, including the Jets and Oilers, as well as the Capitals the last 6 years or so.
Perhaps they realized that strategy doesn’t work when Malkin, Crosby, and Guentzel are all out and tried a more aggressive approach. That being said, Guentzel may be back for this game, as well as Aston-Reese. That should give them a big boost offensively.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers were on the verge of being a great team last year but they just didn’t have the goaltending to support them. They outplayed the Lightning in their playoff series at 5 on 5, but their goaltending couldn’t hold up and they couldn’t get past Vasilevskiy enough.
Florida has some injuries as well, so it’s not like they’re fully healthy playing against a banged-up Penguins team. They’re definitely the better prospect going forward this season though.
Last year, they ended 4th in expected goals percentage, and very close to 3rd behind the Avalanche and Leafs, and slightly above the Hurricanes and Bruins. That’s good company. In the standings, they were 1 point away from the Hurricanes at the top of the division, and 4 points ahead of Tampa Bay.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Penguins are 4-0 in their last 4 Thursday games.
- Penguins are 5-1 in their last 6 after scoring 5+ goals.
- Panthers are 1-5 in their last 6 games when opponent scored 5+ goals.
- Favorite is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings.
- The Over is 5-1 in the last 4 PIT road games.
- The Under is 6-0 in the last 6 meetings.
4* Free NHL Betting Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins +155
Big fade the public spot here with 95% of the money currently on the Panthers and 75% of the bets. There are two other trends in our favor: Teams playing their second game (with rest) against teams playing their first game, and big underdogs after winning as big underdogs.
I don’t trust Bobrovsky in net. I think he was the worst of the three goalies they used last year. Jarry isn’t great either, but he just shut down the Lightning so that means something even if they weren’t mentally there.
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