Panthers vs Devils Odds, Picks, and Predictions Tonight: Cats Ends Road Trip Purrfect

The Florida Panthers are the hottest team in the NHL and are fresh off a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers. The same can't be said for the New Jersey Devils, who are in a slump and have just relieved Lindy Ruff from his coaching duties.

Florida has been labeled as the favorite by NHL odds even after playing just 24 hours ago, but that goes to show just how good the Cats have been coming into this matchup.

Can Florida stay hot and pick up another win to finish this three-game road trip undefeated? Find out in my free NHL picks for the Panthers vs. Devils on March 5.

Panthers vs Devils odds

Panthers vs Devils predictions

The Florida Panthers come into this game 9-1 straight up over their last 10 and have put together five wins in a row. And although the Panthers' offense is nothing to scoff at — four players with 60+ points — it's their defensive play that has bumped this team into a higher stratosphere. 

Florida is giving up a league-best 2.35 goals per game and is smothering opponents, allowing just 27.6 shots per game. This should come as no surprise considering the Panthers have a Corsi For percentage of 56.24 at 5-on-5, which is second to only the Hurricanes. They're dominating at both ends of the ice, and the New Jersey Devils could not be catching them at a worse time.

New Jersey has lost six of 10 and its offense has been mighty inconsistent. The Devils are averaging 3.00 goals over their last 10 but one outlier of seven tallies against the bottom-feeding Sharks skews those numbers. They've been held to a single goal four times in the same stretch of games and it's not like the Panthers are going to be an easy team to break through against.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been lights out for Florida all season but is unlikely to start after getting the nod last night at MSG. However, Anthony Stolarz has been everything you'd want in a backup netminder.

The 30-year-old sports an 11-5-2 record with a very respectable 2.02 GAA and .924 SV%, so no matter who New Jersey sees between the pipes, it'll be difficult to score.

Speaking of scoring, the Panthers have been doing plenty of that lately with 3.9 goals per game over their last 10 — including four goals in three straight. No matter how you slice it, Florida is just the superior team right now in both ends of the ice and will complete the road trip sweep in Newark to improve upon its impressive 22-8-2 away record. I'm not falling for the "new coach bump" nonsense tonight.

For those worried about this back-to-back spot for the Panthers, they're 4-0-1 in the second game of B2B's this year, and the distance between Madison Square Garden and Prudential Center isn't exactly a major cause for jetlag. I think the Cats will be just fine.

My best bet: Panthers moneyline (-118 at FanDuel)

Panthers vs Devils same-game parlay

Panthers moneyline

Jack Hughes Under 1.5 points

Sam Reinhart anytime goal

+320 +416 at bet365

Jack Hughes was getting MVP considerations early on in the season before his injury, but much like the rest of his team, the scoring has been inconsistent recently. Hughes has registered two or more points twice over his last 10 games — against the Sharks and Ducks — and with how much juice is on Under 1.5 (-190) one can only assume his point totals will fall back into the 0.5 range if things don't change.

Sam Reinhart has been a stud for the Panthers and has scored five goals over his last three games. Reinhart is in a groove and is nine back of Auston Matthews for the Rocket Richard, so he'll be getting plenty of looks at the net tonight. New Jersey has also been bleeding goals of late, giving up 3.5 per game over its last 10.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Panthers vs Devils moneyline and Over/Under analysis

Florida opened as a slim road favorite at most books and the number has barely moved since, sitting around the -120 range. A couple of books opened the Panthers as favorites before their game against New York last night and money at those books has come in on the Cats. Florida is 42-20 SU on the ML this season while New Jersey is 30-31.

With Bobrovsky unlikely to start tonight, books opened the total at 6.5, and aside from small adjustments in the odds — Over going from -110 to -106 at Pinnacle — nothing much has changed as of writing. The Panthers have been a great Under bet this season, sitting with a 22-39-1 O/U mark, while New Jersey has been the opposite, rocking a 35-25-1 record to the Over.

Panthers vs Devils betting trend to know

The Panthers have hit the moneyline in 66 of their last 101 games (+23.25 Units / 14% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Panthers vs. Devils.

Panthers vs Devils game info

Panthers vs Devils latest injuries

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