The Florida Panthers (25-12-2) have become the hottest team in the NHL and will head out for an eighth consecutive win in Tuesday’s clash against the St. Louis Blues (20-17-1).
Bookmaker Pinnacle offers odds at -105 for Florida to continue its streak with a victory in regulation time. The odds are at +224 for St. Louis to win in regulation and +334 for no winner in 60 minutes.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 8th, 9:30 P.M. (EST)
The Panthers survived a tricky start to the campaign, as defensive stalwarts Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour didn’t make their season debuts until mid-November, and the team is flying now. The run of wins includes two victories in a Stanley Cup Finals rematch against the Vegas Golden Knights, and Florida also took down the 2022 champs, the Colorado Avalanche, in very impressive style at the weekend, coasting to an 8-4 win on the road.
Six players had multi-point outings on Saturday, with Florida’s depth in full display. Sam Reinhart led the charge with a hat trick, and the team also received great production from the second line, as Matthew Tkachuk notched four points and Carter Verhaeghe picked up three points. The two were on a roll despite second-line center Sam Bennett playing less than 11 minutes due to a lower-body injury.
Luckily for the Panthers, Bennett practiced on Monday and appears good to go for Tuesday’s battle, which should be another entertaining affair against an improving team.
The Blues struggled badly in the first couple of months of the season, but new head coach Drew Bannister has found a way to turn things around. The team has gone 7-3-0 since Bannister replaced Craig Berube at the helm, and one of the first victories was a 4-1 road win against Florida on Dec. 21. It’s the last game the Panthers have lost.
Florida faces a much-improved defense on Tuesday, and Paul Maurice’s men also need to find answers against a couple of red-hot players who have responded superbly to the coaching change. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou have combined for 24 points in the 10 games played with Bannister’s instructions. Both had multi-point games in the first head-to-head meeting of the season.
Joel Hofer beat the Panthers last month with an impressive 37-save effort, but Jordan Binnington is expected to be between the sticks on Tuesday. He’s won back-to-back outings against a pair of top teams in Vancouver and Carolina and will now attempt to register his first three-game winning streak of the season. The Panthers will likely counter with Sergei Bobrovsky, who has lost only three of his last 14 decisions.
