Florida Panthers (19-11-2) at Minnesota Wild (20-7-4)
Date: Wednesday, December 18
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: TNT
Well, I jinxed it. The only silver lining from last Thursday’s wager on Golden Knights vs. Jets was the under still hit and at least Winnipeg lost in overtime to make it close. But none of that matters in betting. We move forward.
Is the Toronto-Dallas matchup just as good? Sure, but I avoid betting on Stars games as they’re the club I love. It's best that I keep emotion out of my betting selections.
The Florida-Minnesota matchup is no slouch.
The pick — Wild ML (+110, BetMGM)
The Wild, the best team in the West, plays host to the Panthers, the defending champions. Both squads are currently struggling to put a win streak together, but I like the home team for a few reasons.
1. Minnesota has already beaten Florida, winning 5-1 on the road in late October. The Wild match up very well with Paul Maurice’s guys.
2. Kirill Kaprizov. He’s having a phenomenal season, leading the NHL in plus/minus (+23) and in goals created (19.1). He’s currently third in odds to win the Hart Trophy (+360), so maybe it’s worth a sprinkle especially if Minnesota wins the top spot in the West.
3. Goaltending. The Wild are currently third in the NHL in goals allowed. While the Panthers (fourth in goals) are a scoring machine, this matchup will have the feeling of a playoff game, and in the postseason, goaltending matters.
Florida has allowed the league’s eighth-most goals (104) and owns the third-worst goals against above expected (11.96). The Panthers are also on the last leg of a five-game road trip, playing two nights after an emotionally charged 6-5 win against Edmonton in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.
Florida might not have much left in the tank. So go with the home team that has the better goaltending.
Season record: 11-11-1, +1.35 units