Knights Brace for Showdown at Panthers

The Vegas Golden Knights are still one of the top teams in the NHL overall, but they’ve been fading. If you bet online, you’ve probably noticed their slump as they’ve dropped six of their last nine.

As for the Panthers, they’re heading in the opposite direction. They beat the Winnipeg Jets 5-3 last time out and have won 11 out of their past 14 games.

Let’s take a closer look at this NHL game betting matchup and figure out the best choice for the NHL odds.

• Game: Vegas Golden Knights (25-15-3) at Florida Panthers (29-9-5)
• Location: BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
• Day/Time: Thursday, 7 p.m. ET
• Television: TNT

Vegas Golden Knights at Florida Panthers

Goaltending Still an Issue for Visitors

Despite having a top-10 offense, the Golden Knights are 19th in terms of goals allowed per game, which is dragging them down.

Their goaltending has been average throughout the entire season but to take that next step, they have to shore up their mistakes on the back end.

Robin Lehner has played in the net for the majority of the season and is 17-11-1 overall. That is behind a mediocre .907 save percentage.

His numbers are a bit weird as he was 5-1 in December but had an .881 save percentage and a 3.23 goals-against average. He’s played better in January with a 2.15 GAA and a .916 save percentage but is just 3-2-1.

His performance will be crucial to a win here.

Panthers Hard to Stop

The Panthers are unbelievable on the offensive end right now and are No. 2 in goals scored per game.

They average 4.02 goals a contest, with Jonathan Huberdeau leading the way. He has picked up 58 points to rank among the top five.

They have been getting the job done as a team, though. Florida has six different players over the 30-point mark and three more guys in the 20s.

Everybody is stepping up and creating offense, making them such a difficult team to slow down. There is some room for improvement defensively, but they have proven to be able to outscore any opponent.

Panthers Should Prevail

Each team has proven to be really talented offensively with some slight issues on the back end. However, Florida has done a much better job than the Knights of covering that up.

They look like a more polished team right now, playing with a ton of energy every time. It seems like they are going to be able to outwork Vegas offensively and just create more consistent offense.

As for the over-under in the sportsbook, it is marked at 6½. That total seems very likely to go over with the Panthers averaging four goals per game and the Knights surpassing that total in four of their last five.

Parlay: Florida Panthers -175 and Over 6½

Pick: Over 6½ goals

Pick: Florida Panthers -175