Eastern Conference: Florida Panthers vs Pittsburgh Penguins NHL OddsÂ
Panthers Sit Four Points Behind Bruins in Atlantic Division
The Florida Panthers (33-15-4, 70 points) head to the PPG Paints Arena to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-19-7, 53 points) who are in desperate need of putting a few wins together. The Panthers are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games while the Pens are 3-4-3. Oddsmakers have made Florida a -125 road favorite with a total of 6. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
Panthers vs Penguins 
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Panthers Lean On Depth But Could Use More
As we get closer to the postseason, you’ll hear the word depth and how much one team has over another. With the trade deadline coming up on March 8th, teams will either be focused on a rental star that will carry a team to the next level or focus on adding third and fourth-line depth.
The Florida Panthers have a tremendous top line featuring 39-goal scorer Sam Reinhart (64 points) and Carter Verhaeghe (26 goals, 27 assists, 53 points). When we drop down to the second line, Mathew Tkachuk is on his way to another 30-goal season, 80-point season. What we’d like to see is some more scoring to compliment Tkachuk. Florida is 13th in the league in scoring (3.19 / game) aided by a power play that has a 24.9% success rate (6th).
They carry play on most nights and make opposing goaltenders work more than almost any other team in the league but the question is, are they working hard enough to create high-danger chances, or is Paul Maurice’s team happy to put a plethora of shots on the net and take their chances? Despite the Panthers’ 34.37 shots per game (2nd), only 9.3% are finding the back of the net (25th).
Last year, Florida made it to the Stanely Cup Final because they came at you in waves, we don’t think the pre-deadline version of the Panthers is doing that just yet. We continue our look at the Panthers vs Penguins NHL odds by turning our attention to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Losing Their Grip On Playoffs
There is a lot of hockey to be played but one look at the NHL Eastern Conference standings tells Penguins fans that it’s time to start piling up wins fast. Pittsburgh is sixth in the seven-team Metropolitan Division, seven points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the last wild card spot and 11 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for the third spot in the Metro.
There isn’t a shortage of confidence in Pittsburgh, and why would there be when you have names like Crosby and Malkin in your line-up but their lack of scoring on the power play coupled with five-on-five scoring depth has Mike Sullivan wondering if his team has enough firepower to leapfrog over four teams to grab a wild card spot.
Sidney Crosby (28 G, 24 A, 52 points) and Jake Guentzel (22G, 29A, 51 points) are guaranteed to be 30 goal scorers but behind that top line is a second line that has Evgeni Malkin’s 41 points but not much else. Pittsburgh is 25th in power-play goals with 23 and 30th in power-play percentage (13.9%). That must improve before the Pens can contemplate being on the right side of their final 33 NHL scores.
The Public Has Pounced On Panthers
Early wagering gives us a clear indication that the Florida Panthers will get the majority of money wagered with 96% of the cash flowing in on the favorites. 90% of the overall tickets have also favorite Florida, meaning, if you like the Panthers you should get your wager in now or wait as long as you can if you’re siding with Pittsburgh.
NHL odds have the Panther at -125 but this looks like it will climb to -130 before too long. For us, we’re going with the under six for the reasons we’ve previously stated. Pittsburgh has been a terrific under team this year with a 30-16-3 record to the under while Florida has bettered that mark with a 33-18-1 mark to the under.
We’re betting that both teams tendencies continue tonight. That does it for our Panthers vs Penguins NHL odds preview, we wish you all the best with your wagers tonight.
Panthers vs Penguins NHL Odds
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