Plus Money Play On Panthers

Wild vs. Panthers, 7:00 ET

Oh my God! I won an NHL game. It is true what they say, you can't lose them all, I guess. I'll get over my victory lap, but I am happy that I was able to at least get one win this week, now I'm looking for a second victory in a row. Hockey has been quite the struggle, and publicly failing isn't fun. That doesn't mean I'll completely give up. Instead, it means I work harder and look for different angles. Tonight, I have one for the game between the Wild and the Panthers.

The Wild were a team that I bet on the other day and it was a disaster. I said that the Islanders and Wild would combine to rack up goals, and, of course, the Wild won the game 5-0, with the game going under. That was sandwiched between a 6-0 shutout that they suffered at the hands of the Coyotes, and a 7-3 loss to the Lightning. The Wild have lost four of their past five games and nine of their past 11 games. The only game that didn't go over six goals in the last five games was the one I bet on. It isn't like the Wild are scoring a ton of goals, they are averaging just 2.09 goals per game over their past 11 consists. Opponents, on the other hand, are averaging 4.09 goals per game. For those that are not math majors that would mean that the Wild, on average, are losing games by two goals on average. Over those same 11 games I've been locked in on, they have only had three games that were one score wins or losses. Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to mind the net tonight. He's allowing almost three goals per game this season and has a .897 save percentage this season.

MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 19: View of a Minnesota Wild logo on a jersey worn by a member of the team during the Minnesota Wild versus the Montreal Canadiens game on April 19, 2022 at Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Panthers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals last year. They ultimately lost, but on the way they defeated the team that was the best team (record-wise) in hockey history. They started the season a bit deflated and they were just 5-4-1 after 10 games. They were good, but not great until the end of December as they sat with an 18-12-2 record before reeling off nine straight wins. The only issue is they've dropped the past three games now bringing their record to 27-13-4 on the season. This has been a bit of a brutal homestand for the Panthers as they've dropped three of their four games. The Panthers are likely to put Sergei Bobrovsky in the net for them. He is the owner of two of those three losses over their past couple of games. Prior to that, he guided them to seven straight victories. Since the beginning of December the Panthers have been 10-5 with him between the pipes. It has been a bit hard to gauge when he will give up goals. In those 15 games, he has allowed at least three goals in eight of them, and one or two goals in seven.

The last time these two teams faced each other was in October, back when the Panthers were coming off of their Stanley Cup loss hangover. The Wild took that game 2-0 in Minnesota. Bobrovsky was in the net for that game and only faced 21 shots. The Panthers took 41 shots in that game and got none past Wild goalie, Filip Gustavsson. 41 to 21 shots. Even if that becomes a bit more average between the two teams, I am expecting the Panthers to coast in this game. I'll take them on the puck line at +130.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024