Utah Hockey Club fans will get a treat when the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers come to town for the first time in their organization’s history. It has been a challenging couple of weeks for the league’s newest team, and it won’t get any easier when they welcome Matthew Tkachuk and his team to town. The schedule begins to ease for Utah once this game ends, and luckily for them, the Panthers also haven’t been in their best form over the past couple of weeks. The Panthers won both games against the Arizona Coyotes last season by a combined score of 10-3. Utah had been performing better than the roster they inherited had done in past seasons, but they are now back to their losing ways. It’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Panthers-Utah HC prediction and pick.
Here are the Panthers-Utah HC NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Panthers-Utah HC Odds
Florida Panthers: -1.5 (+185)
Moneyline: -135
Utah Hockey Club: +1.5 (-225)
Moneyline: +115
Over: 6 (-105)
Under: 6 (-115)
How To Watch Panthers vs. Utah HC
Time: 10 PM ET/7 PM PT
TV: TNT, truTV
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why the Panthers Could Cover the Spread/Win
Utah hasn’t been playing well lately, which came as a slight surprise after a winning streak in the middle of December nearly put them into playoff contention. They’ve struggled since that streak, losing six of their past seven games. It isn’t as surprising when you dive deeper into their schedule, considering they’ve lost to some of the league’s top teams in a challenging gauntlet. Utah started this skid with a disappointing loss to the Anaheim Ducks but were then underdogs against the Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, and Dallas Stars. The only other loss they had where they were a favorite was against the Seattle Kraken. Utah is back in a position where they are an underdog in this matchup.
The Panthers’ goaltending will put their team in a position to win if they can start scoring more goals. Sergei Bobrovsky combined for a .916 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average over their last five stars.
Why the Utah HC Could Cover the Spread/Win
The Panthers may not be in as bad form as Utah, but their recent stretch still doesn’t sit well with the team. Like Utah, they had a winning streak through the middle of December that put them ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division. However, they fell off around the holiday break, losing four of their past six games. The most discouraging part of the losing skid was their back-to-back shutout losses against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens, and their other two losses came when they scored just one goal in each.
Utah’s goaltenders haven’t been playing terribly despite the absence of Connor Ingram. Karel Vejmelka has been holding down the fort, and he and Jaxson Stauber combined for a 3.00 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage over their past five games.
Final Panthers-Utah HC Prediction & Pick
The Panthers aren’t happy with their recent form, but they have been beating up on inferior competition in their wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. They did have one disappointing loss to the Canadiens, but other than that, it has been pretty clean, other than games against the league’s top teams. Take the Panthers to brush off some of their offensive woes and get the job done in this game.
Final Panthers-Utah HC Prediction & Pick: Panthers -1.5 (+185)
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