The Florida Panthers and the Montreal Canadiens meet Saturday in NHL action from the Bell Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Florida Panthers vs. Montreal Canadiens prediction.
Matchup History
The Montreal Canadiens won the lone meeting between these two teams by a final score of 4-0 in Florida back on December 28th, 2024. The win gave Montreal back-to-back wins in this series, but Florida’s still won 7 of the last 10 head-to-head meetings between the two sides.
Florida Panthers Recap
The Florida Panthers come into this game looking to add on to their 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs last time out to improve to 41-22-3 on the year. After this game, Florida will continue their road trip to take on the New York Islanders.
Panthers Win 7 Of Their Last 8 Games
Sam Reinhart has a team-high 70 points including 32 goals and 38 assists while Sam Bennett has 44 points with 22 goals and 22 assists and Anton Lundell has 41 points of his own with 15 goals and 26 assists. Aleksander Barkov also has 60 points with 43 assists of his own while Carter Verhaeghe has 45 points with 17 goals and 28 assists and Matthew Tkachuk has 57 points with 22 goals and 35 assists. Sergei Bobrovsky is 28-14-2 with a 2.49 GAA and a .907 save percentage in goal for Florida this season.
Why the Florida Panthers will win
- The Panthers have won seven of their last eight games.
- The Canadiens have lost three of their last four games.
- The road team has covered the puck line in each of the Canadiens’ last seven games.
- The Canadiens have failed to cover the puck line in six of their last seven games at Bell Centre.
Florida Panthers Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Tkachuk has recorded at least one point in each of his last eight appearances with the Panthers as favorites.
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored at least one goal in each of his last seven appearances with the Panthers as favorites.
- Aaron Ekblad has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six appearances after playing less than 20 minutes in the Panthers’ last game.
- Gustav Forsling ranks T1st in the Atlantic Division for Plus/Minus (+32) this season.
Montreal Canadiens Recap
The Montreal Canadiens come into this game looking to bounce back from a 5-4 OT loss to Seattle last time out. After this game, Montreal will head home for a game against the Ottawa Senators.
Canadiens Looking To Get Back On Track
Nick Suzuki has a team-high 69 points with 20 goals and a team-high 49 assists while Cole Caufield has 59 points with a team-high 32 goals. Mike Matheson has 23 assists while Juraj Slafkovsky has 40 points with 26 assists and Lane Hutson has 47 assists as well on the year. Brendan Gallagher has 25 points with 15 goals while Jake Evans has 29 points with 12 goals and 17 assists. In goal for Montreal, Sam Montembeault has gone 23-21-4 with a 2.87 GAA and an .899 save percentage while Cayden Primeau is 2-3-1 with a 4.70 GAA and an .836 save percentage this season. Jakub Dobes is also 6-3-2 with a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage as well on the year.
Why the Montreal Canadiens will win
- The Canadiens have won each of their last three games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Panthers have lost four of their last seven games as road favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Canadiens’ last nine games.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games as road favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
Montreal Canadiens Player Prop Facts
- Nick Suzuki has scored at least one goal in each of the Canadiens’ last three home games.
- Nick Suzuki has recorded at least one assist in each of the Canadiens’ last four games against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Juraj Slafkovsky has recorded at least one point in 13 of the Canadiens’ last 14 home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Lane Hutson ranks 1st amongst rookies for average time on ice (22:21) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Panthers’ last six games have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Canadiens’ last eight games after coming off overtime have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Three of the last four games between teams from the same division have gone OVER the total goals line.
Florida Panthers vs. Montreal Canadiens Prediction
I’m on the Panthers here. I just am riding the team in much better form as of late, as Florida is just back in one of those grooves where it’s really hard to step in front of them on any given night. Montreal is still going to be a stiff test and will give themselves a chance more often than not, but I still think that Florida just ends up being too much here and gets themselves the road win in this one.