Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers will do battle against Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin, and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena for an Eastern Conference tilt. AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will broadcast the game, and the action gets underway at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 5.
Florida Panthers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Pittsburgh is 25-16 straight-up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.2 units this season. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 44-38 record from the 2018-19 season campaign. 20 of its 41 games have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just one has pushed. This season, the team is 16-7 SU at home.
The Penguins have converted on 18.1 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 13th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 81.5 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 24.3 saves per game with a .896 save percentage, Matt Murray (13-11-4) has been the primary goalkeeper for Pittsburgh this season. Murray did just play yesterday, however, so the team could choose to give him the night off and turn to Tristan Jarry instead (13-6-6 record, .936 save percentage, 1.94 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, Florida is 21-20 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.4 units this season. Through 41 regular season outings, 24 of its games have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under the total and just three have pushed. As an away team, the Panthers are 8-11 SU so far.
The Panthers have scored on 23.0 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for ninth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 21st overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.7 percent of all penalties.
Sergei Bobrovsky (26.2 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Bobrovsky has 16 wins, 17 losses, and four OT losses to his credit, while registering a .895 save percentage and 3.33 goals against average this year.
Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The Panthers (3-3 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. The Penguinshas yet to lose a shootout this year (2-0).
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone over in three of their last five outings.
- This game features two clubs that put the puck on net a lot. Florida has attempted the league’s eighth-most shots on goal (33.2) while Pittsburgh has attempted the seventh-most (33.4).
- Over Pittsburgh’s last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-1 in those games).
- The Pens this season have recorded the third-most hits per game in the NHL (28.7), but that average has climbed to 31.6 over their last five home outings.
