Tonight’s meeting between the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins has plenty of Eastern Conference implications, as the surging Pens sit four points behind the Panthers and will look to climb the East with a win tonight.
Can the Penguins take advantage of a schedule that had the Panthers in Buffalo last night? Can Florida get competitive after not having seen much elite competition of late? Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Panthers vs. Penguins.
Panthers vs Penguins odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
This game opened as a pick ‘em but has since moved to Florida -120 with a total of 6.5 and leaning to the Over. These two teams have met twice this season with the Panthers closing as -130 favorites on the ML in Pittsburgh back in November.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Panthers vs Penguins predictions
Predictions made on 3/08/2022 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Panthers vs Penguins game info
• Location: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
• Date: Tuesday, March 8, 2022
• Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ATTSN-Pittsburgh, Bally Sports Florida
Panthers vs Penguins betting preview
Key injuries
Panthers: Joe Thornton F (Out).
Penguins: Mike Matheson D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Panthers vs Penguins head-to-head record since 2017-18
Panthers: 5-5 SU, 32 goals for.
Penguins: 5-5 SU, 32 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The home team is 7-2 SU in the last nine meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Panthers vs. Penguins.
Panthers vs Penguins picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Florida Panthers will head to PPG Paints Arena tonight to face a waiting Pittsburgh team, as the Panthers are coming off a 6-1 win over the lowly Sabres last night. The Panthers still have the lead in the Atlantic division, but with the Lightning come on of late and Florida going 6-4 SU since February 1, the Atlantic Division race is getting close.
Florida comes into tonight’s game having not played a good team in quite some time. The Panthers have seen the Sabres, Red Wings, Senators, Oilers, Blue Jackets, Predators and Blackhawks over their last seven games. Only one of those opponents currently sits in a playoff spot and the Panthers still managed to go just 4-3 SU over that stretch.
On the road this year, Florida is surprisingly a near-.500 team on the road this season with a 13-12 SU record. They have a plus-16 goal differential on the road which isn’t terrible, but is in sharp contrast to their plus-54 mark at home.
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, comes into this matchup rested and has taken five of a possible six points against the Lightning, Hurricanes and Rangers over their last four games. Since January 1, only two teams have collected more points than Pittsburgh, who went 17-6-4 with a plus-18 goal differential.
Pittsburgh showed in its 1-0 win over Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers that they can play tight and capitalize on the power play to win games, while their convincing 5-1 victory in Tampa proved this team can run it up against good teams. This is not a one-dimensional Pittsburgh team.
Tristan Jarry will get the start for the Pens tonight. The goaltender looks to be past his recent struggles as he has picked up the victory in his two previous starts while allowing just one goal in 28 shots versus the Bolts and Rangers. Jarry is a streaky goalie and can be elite when he’s hot. He saw the Panthers at home earlier in the season and stopped 36 of 38 shots in the 3-2 shootout victory.
Pittsburgh comes into the game with an advantage in the schedule, having played much stronger opponents of late, while Florida is a very overvalued team on the road where they have been a .500 team all season. We’re going against the market in this one and taking the home side at even money Tuesday night.
Prediction: Penguins ML (+100)
Over/Under analysis
Florida games always bring out high totals, but should this Over be leaning to 7?
The last meeting saw Tristan Jarry versus Sergei Bobrovsky face off in a tightly contested match that finished tied 2-2 after 60 minutes. That total also closed at 6. Florida has seen a closing total of 7 in seven of their last 10 games, but as we mentioned above, it hasn’t played many top-ranked teams outside of the 3-2 OT win over Carolina, which saw just 49 total shots and zero power-play goals.
Pittsburgh has been slightly better than neutral at keeping opponents’ shots down and ranks in the top-third in 5-on-5 goals allowed per game. The Pens also have the third-best penalty kill in the league and have allowed just one PP goal over their last four games.
Jarry and the Pens will face a Panthers team that has scored at least three goals in nine straight games and lead the league in scoring at 4.13 goals per game. However, Florida scores just 3.56 goals per game on the road which is a solid mark but not nearly as high as its home mark. Florida has also played a team in the Top 4 in the conference just four times over its last 25 games.
The Florida power play has been doing plenty of heavy lifting of late as it has eight goals over its last four games, but scoring multiple power-play goals against the Pens’ elite PK is tough sledding. Pittsburgh is also the least-penalized team in hockey and takes under 3.00 minor penalties per game.
Bobrovsky got the night off against Buffalo and will; likely get the nod tonight. The former Vezina winner has allowed two or fewer goals in five of his last seven games and stopped 29 of 31 shots versus the Pens in the last meeting. The Panthers are giving up just 31 shots per game since January 1 which is a Top-10 mark.
These teams have always played tight games with the Under going 8-1 in the last nine meetings. This game has big conference implications and we expect it to be a battle with things not getting out of hand. Jarry is back in great form and the Pittsburgh offense has not dominated at 5-on-5. At the very least, this should be 6.5 and -110 aside.
Prediction: Under 6.5 (+100)
Best bet
The Panthers aren’t nearly as dominant on the road as at home and come in with tired legs on the end of a back-to-back. Florida has also not played many great opponents of late while the Penguins have been tested by elite teams over the last 10 days and looked good in the process.
This price moving from a pick‘em to Florida -120 is also helping us get on board with Sid and Pens. Everyone is talking about the Panthers’ depth, but Pittsburgh is also running three solid lines with McGinn-Carter-Rodrigues rolling in the three-spot. We like the Penguins closing the gap between them and the top teams in the East.
Pick: Penguins ML (+100)
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