Check out a top prediction and pick for tonight’s Florida Panthers vs. Utah Mammoth matchup as part of the Wednesday NHL slate.
Wednesday’s NHL slate is a small one, but a couple of games in the late window bring some intrigue to the picture. The Florida Panthers aren’t near the postseason picture at the moment, but they’ve strung together a pair of wins and still have the talent to keep games close as a scrappy and physical team. Tonight, they play a Utah Mammoth squad that comes off two consecutive losses amidst a bit of a cold stretch, though they remain competitive in difficult division. This shapes up as a fun contest at 9 p.m. EST, so prepare your betting cards prior to puck drop.
Here’s a Panthers vs. Mammoth prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Wednesday night’s game.
Panthers vs. Mammoth prediction, preview
With both of these teams hovering near the same mark with 31 points for Utah and 30 for Florida, we’re looking at a pretty even matchup tonight. Neither side particularly excels in terms of scoring with the Panthers edging the advantage at 3.11 goals per game compared to 3.00 for the Mammoth, and both average around 29 shots per game as well. However, the latter is better defensively with 2.90 goals allowed per contest as opposed to 3.18 for Florida, with Utah also allowing the second-fewest shots per game at 24.7.
There’s no shortage of talent at the top on both squads. For the Panthers, Brad Marchand’s 31 points are a team-best, and he’s followed by Sam Reinhart with 27. Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe are also pulling their eight with 22 and 21 apiece, but it’s notable that none of Florida’s top players have a positive mark in the +/- stat. Meanwhile, the Mammoth are led by Clayton Keller and his 28 points, followed by Nick Schmaltz’s 26. Three skaters have 23 apiece between Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka, and Mikhail Sergachev also has 20 points as well.
Goaltending is the weak point for both rosters, though. Florida netminder Sergei Bobrovsky’s .881 SV% is a career-worst and his 2.98 GAA isn’t far behind. Utah’s goalie, Karel Vejmelka, has posted a 2.66 GAA and .895 SV% and isn’t exactly a star either. Better play in net from either team would significantly raise their chances, but alas, it’s a struggle on both sides that holds these squads back.
Panthers vs. Mammoth pick, best bet
DraftKings Sportsbook lists this contest as a near toss-up. The Panthers are favored slightly at -115 on the Moneyline, just a smidge ahead of the Mammoth at -105. However, the public is on Florida with 73% of straight bets in the visitors’ favor, while 80% of wagers are targeting over the total of 5.5 goals.
So far this season, the Mammoth are better at home with a 7-4-1 record. The Panthers see a similar trend and are a paltry 4-6-0 on the road, so despite the recent results for each side, I do favor Utah tonight. Neither side is particularly strong on the power play with Florida ranked 15th at 19.0% and Utah ranked 28th at 15.1%, and the penalty kills are separated by just 2.0 percentage points as well. The Mammoth have simply seen a little more production from the top end of the lineup and are stronger at home with the better goaltender (which does feel wild to say about Bobrovsky). The defense should win out here, though it may be a battle. It feels like a get-right game lies on the horizon for a Utah group which has been quite fun to follow this year thus far, so a straight bet makes some sense in this spot.
Best Bet: UTA Mammoth ML (-105)