The Utah Hockey Club and the Florida Panthers meet on Friday in NHL action from the Amerant Bank Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Panthers vs Hockey Club Prediction.
Matchup History
The Florida Panthers won the lone meeting between these two teams this season by a final score of 4-1 back on January 8th, 2025, in Utah.
Utah Hockey Club Recap
The Utah Hockey Club come into this game looking to bounce back after ending up with an 8-0 beatdown loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning last time out to slip to 32-29-11 on the year. After this game, Utah will meet the Red Wings and Blackhawks.
Utah Hockey Club Drop Back-To-Back Games
Clayton Keller leads Utah in scoring with 78 points, including 24 goals and a team-high 54 assists, while Dylan Guenther has 50 points with 26 goals. Logan Cooley has 54 points with 21 goals and 33 assists of his own, while Nick Schmaltz has 40 assists as part of his 57 points. Mikhail Sergachev has 45 points with 32 assists, while Barrett Hayton has 39 points with 17 goals and 22 assists. Connor Ingram has gone 9-8-4 with a 3.27 GAA and an .882 save percentage, while Karel Vejmelka has gone 21-20-6 with a 2.62 GAA and a .902 save percentage in goal for Utah this season. Jaxson Stauber has gone 2-1-1 with a 2.23 GAA and a .925 save percentage this season as well for Utah.
Why the Utah Hockey Club will win
- The Panthers have lost each of their last four games as favorites after coming off a shootout.
- Utah has won four of its last five games following a road loss.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 11 night games following a shootout win.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in six of the Panthers’ last seven games.
Utah Hockey Club Player Prop Facts
- Nick Schmaltz has scored a goal in each of Utah’s last six Friday games.
- Clayton Keller has recorded at least one assist in seven of his last eight appearances on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- Clayton Keller has recorded at least one point in 10 of Utah’s last 11 games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Dylan Guenther ranks T2nd in the league for Game Winning Goals (9) this season.
Florida Panthers Recap
The Florida Panthers come into this game looking to add on to their 4-3 shootout win over Pittsburgh last time out to improve to 43-25-3 on the year. After this game, Florida will welcome the Montreal Canadiens to town for the first leg of their home-and-home.
Panthers Looking For Consistency
Sam Reinhart has a team-high 75 points, including 35 goals and 40 assists, while Sam Bennett has 47 points with 23 goals and 24 assists, and Anton Lundell has 42 points of his own with 16 goals and 26 assists. Aleksander Barkov also has 64 points with 45 assists of his own, while Carter Verhaeghe has 46 points with 17 goals and 29 assists, and Matthew Tkachuk has 57 points with 22 goals and 35 assists. Sergei Bobrovsky is 30-15-2 with a 2.46 GAA and a .907 save percentage in goal for Florida this season. Vitek Vanecek is also 1-2 with a 3.04 GAA and an .897 in goal for the Panthers this year.
Why the Florida Panthers will win
- The Panthers have won each of their last seven night games at Amerant Bank Arena against opponents on a losing streak.
- Utah has lost five of its last six night games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- The home team has covered the puck line in eight of the Panthers’ last nine games.
- Utah has failed to cover the puck line in each of its last five night games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
Florida Panthers Player Prop Facts
- Aleksander Barkov has recorded at least one assist in each of the Panthers’ last six games as favorites against Central Division opponents.
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored at least one goal in each of his last seven appearances with the Panthers as favorites.
- Matthew Tkachuk has recorded at least one point in each of his last eight appearances with the Panthers as favorites.
- Aleksander Barkov ranks 1st in the league for shootout goals (4) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Panthers’ last six games as favorites following a home win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Four of Utah’s last five games against Atlantic Division opponents have gone OVER the total goals line.
Panthers vs Hockey Club Prediction
I’m on the Panthers here. I get that the Utah Hockey Club have played their best hockey on the road for the better part of the season, but they just got shellacked by the Lightning on Thursday. This is a quick turnaround to try to bounce back. Florida’s no joke either, and the Florida road trip is one of the tougher ones to make in the NHL at any point in the year. Give me the Panthers at home in this one.