Jason Zucker, Eric Staal, and the Minnesota Wild will do battle against Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center for an East-West showdown. Fox Sports North will broadcast the action, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 3.
Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers Odds
Florida enters the game as the obvious favorite with a -160 moneyline. The line for the Wild now stands at +140, and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-130 for the over, +110 for the under).
Producing -1.3 units for moneyline bettors, Florida is 13-13 straight up (SU) overall in the 2019-20 season. That win percentage, ranked second in the Atlantic Division so far in this young season, is fairly close to what the team managed during last year’s regular season (36-46). Of the team’s 26 games this season, 18 have gone over the total, while seven have gone under and just one has pushed. The team’s 7-5 SU at home this season.
The Panthers have converted on 22.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 84.8 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 24.4 saves per game with a .884 save percentage, Sergei Bobrovsky (10-11-4) has been the most dependable goalkeeper for the Panthers this season. If the Panthers choose to give him the evening off, however, the team may turn to Sam Montembeault (3-4-4 record, .889 save percentage, 3.31 goals against average).
On the other hand, Minnesota is 12-15 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 27 regular season outings, 13 of its games have gone over the total, while 11 have gone under the total and just three have pushed. As the visiting team, the Wild are 5-12 SU so far.
The Wild have converted on 20.7 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 18th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Alex Stalock (2.67 goals against average and .912 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Minnesota. Stalock is averaging 24.8 saves per game and owns an 8-7-2 record.
Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Panthers, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- Two of the Panthers’ last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 2-0 in those games and 3-3 overall in shootouts this year.
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in three of their past five outings.
- Minnesota skaters registered 19.5 hits per game last season, while the Panthers forced 23.2 hits per matchup.
