Charlie Cummings shares a preview, prediction and pick for Monday’s NHL matchup between the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights.
This matchup could have been a Stanley Cup showdown any of the past few seasons. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see these two duke it out come summer. But, so far, the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights are off to slow starts compared to their lofty standards. Now, the two will do battle in a heavyweight inter-conference clash.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Vegas is a -135 moneyline favorite at home, and the game’s total is set at 5.5 goals. Florida is the road underdog, priced at +114 on the moneyline. Let’s get into a prediction and pick for this Panthers-Golden Knights showdown.
Panthers vs. Golden Knights preview
The Panthers are already feeling the effects of their injury woes early in the season. Aleksander Barkov could never be replaced after his season-ending knee injury, but they would try to make up for it. That’s become more difficult with Matthew Tkachuk’s absence. Without their top-end scoring talent, Florida has fallen to 29th in goals for on the season. 37-year-old Brad Marchand is doing the heaviest of lifting offensively.
Vegas is feeling similar problems. Mark Stone flew out of the gates with 13 points in six games, and the Knights started off with points in all six. Since then, Vegas’ offense has cratered, and they’ve gone 2-3-2. When you have Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner, there’s only so far you can drop, and they retain a strong defense. But they’ll be counting the days until their captain returns in the meantime.
Panthers vs. Golden Knights pick, best bet
Both teams are leaning on defense and goaltending to navigate their injury woes. There are some great offensive talents here, but it’s about cohesion and depth when playing great defenses. Those key absences significantly limit the scoring upside in this game. I’m banking on the under.
Best Bet: Under 5.5 Goals (+110)