Anthony Duclair, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and the Ottawa Senators will do battle against Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center in a divisional tilt. Fox SportsNet Florida will showcase the matchup, and the opening face-off is at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, December 16.
Ottawa Senators vs. Florida Panthers Odds
Florida is 15-17 straight-up (SU) and has lost 4.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage hasn’t moved much from the 36-46 record the team managed during the 2018-19 season campaign. Of the team’s 32 games this season, 18 have gone over the total, while 11 have gone under and just three have pushed. Thus far, the team’s 9-9 SU at home.
The Panthers have converted on 21.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for ninth-best in the league. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated 12th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all penalties.
With a .900 save percentage and 26.4 saves per game, Sergei Bobrovsky (12-14-4) has been the principal goalkeeper for the Panthers this year. If the Panthers, however, choose to give him the night off, head coach Joel Quenneville could turn to Sam Montembeault (3-4-4 record, .889 save percentage, 3.31 goals against average).
Ottawa has earned moneyline bettors 0.2 units this year and is currently 14-19 straight up (SU). A total of 17 of its outings have gone under the total, while 16 have gone over and none have pushed. The Senators are 5-14 SU as the away team this season.
The Senators have converted on just 10.6 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that places them in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 12th overall and it’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Anders Nilsson (28.7 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Ottawa. Nilsson owns a 9-10-2 record, and has registered a .913 save percentage and 3.02 goals against average this year.
Ottawa Senators vs. Florida Panthers Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Panthers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Eight of Florida’s last ten games have been decided by two or more goals, and the club is 3-5 overall in those games.
- Penalties and power plays could be even more critical than usual tonight. The Senators are 4-8 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-10 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, in total. The Panthers are 8-12 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 11-14 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Florida (3-3 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Ottawa fell short in its lone shootout this season.
- The under has hit in four of Florida’s last five outings.
- Ottawa skaters have averaged 6.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.9 giveaways per game (ranked 22nd in the league).
- Florida has averaged 14.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 12.4 giveaways per game (ranked 29th in the league).
- Ottawa skaters have accounted for the league’s fifth-most hits per game (26.2).
