Panthers vs Canadiens Pick – NHL Predictions & Odds 3/16/23

The Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers meet Thursday in NHL action at the FLA Live Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

The Montreal Canadiens are averaging 2.7 goals per game and are scoring on 16 percent of their power play opportunities. Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 26 goals, Nick Suzuki has 30 assists and Josh Anderson has 159 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing 3.6 goals per game and are killing 72.9 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jake Allen has given up 132 goals on 1,263 shots faced, and Sam Montembeault has allowed 97 goals on 1,018 shots.

The Florida Panthers are averaging 3.4 goals per game and are scoring on 21.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Carter Verhaeghe leads Florida with 32 goals, Matthew Tkachuk has 57 assists and Brandon Montour has 192 shots on goal. Defensively, the Florida Panthers are allowing 3.3 goals per game and are killing 74.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Sergei Bobrovsky has given up 123 goals on 1,285 shots faced, and Spencer Knight has allowed 62 goals on 627 shots.

The Canadiens are 24-54 in their last 78 road games and 50-105 in their last 155 overall. The Panthers are 67-27 in their last 94 home games and 25-11 in their last 36 Thursday games. The over is 5-1 in Canadiens last 6 overall. The under is 5-2-1 in Panthers last 8 overall. The Canadiens are 0-6 in the last 6 meetings in Florida and 1-6 in the last 7 meetings. The favorite is 38-14 in the last 52 meetings. The home team is 10-2 in the last 12 meetings.

The Montreal Canadiens have been a mess on the road dating back to last season, and they’re not a team you should make a habit of backing overall. The Florida Panthers have been a buzz saw at home dating back to last year, and they need to keep winning if they’re going to sneak into the playoffs. Must win game for the Panthers. Give me the home team, and I’ll lay the PL to shave the price.