Florida Panthers vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction, Preview and Odds - 01/04/2024

Game Time: 10:00 pm ET, Thursday, January 4, 2024

Venue:  T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers -105, VGK -115; Over/Under:  6 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers -105, VGK -115; Over/Under:  6 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers -105, VGK -115; Over/Under:  6 goals

Florida Panthers:  23-12-2 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

Vegas Golden Knights:  22-11-5 (2nd place, Pacific Division)

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Florida Panthers:  6-4-0 last 10

Vegas Golden Knights:  4-6-0 last 10

The Panthers are entering this game with 48 points, a 23-12-2 record overall, and they are 11-7-2 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Arizona Coyotes in their last game, winning that one on the road 4-1. Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling, Sam Reinhart, and Matthew Tkachuk each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Carter Verhaeghe and Aleksander Barkov each led the team in assists with 1 while Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell, and Brandon Montour each led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 22 shots with 21 saves and a .955 save percentage. Their offense has scored 111 goals this season averaging 3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 94 goals against them allowing 2.5 goals per game.

The Golden Knights are entering this game with 49 points, a 22-11-5 record overall, and they are 13-3-2 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Seattle Kraken in their last game, losing that one on the road 3-0. No one on the team scored a goal or recorded an assist for them in that game. Jonathan Marchessault led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Logan Thompson was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 27 shots with 24 saves and a .889 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 127 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 106 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Golden Knights listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Golden Knights have looked really good in their games this season with their 22-11-5 record overall, but lately they haven't looked as good in their games. The defending Stanley Cup champions have slipped down to 2nd place in their division in the West and have been losing a lot lately, both before and after the break. They just lost their last game in the Winter Classic too, but they will be looking to bounce back on their home ice here. Meanwhile, the Panthers have also looked really good in their games this season with their 23-12-2 record overall which has them in 2nd place of their division in the East. The Panthers have also looked a lot better in their games lately than the way the Golden Knights have looked, but Vegas needs a bounce back win on home ice here and they will be pushing for it against this team. The Panthers are the team that they beat in the Stanley Cup finals last season and the Panthers already got their revenge at home a few weeks ago when they played each other. Now it is the Golden Knights who are seeking revenge at home from that loss and they are going to be desperate for a win here considering how they were just embarrassed in Seattle in the Winter Classic by getting shut out. The best way to place a bet here is on the Golden Knights to win this game. 

Panthers Golden Knights Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, January 4, 2024 (10:00 pm ET start time) is VGK 4 Panthers 2.

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Florida Panthers: 140-92 (+11.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 29-15 (+8.3 units) on the moneyline after allowing 2 goals or less in 2 straight games. 23-14 UNDER in all games. 14-6 UNDER in a road game where the total is 6 or more. 10-4 UNDER after 2 or more consecutive unders.

 

Vegas Golden Knights: 49-36 (-9.1 units) on the moneyline in a home game where the total is 6 or more. 19-20 (-6.8 units) on the moneyline after playing a game where 4 or fewer total goals were scored. 11-3 UNDER after a division game. 13-4 UNDER off a loss by 2 goals or more to a division rival.

Florida Panthers:  N. Cousins (C) Ques Thurs - Undisclosed. J. Gadjovich (LW) Mid Jan - Illness.

Vegas Golden Knights:  W. Karlsson (C) Out Thurs - Lower Body. A. Hill (G) Mid Jan - Lower Body. B. Hutton (D) Out indefinitely - Upper Body. K. Korczak (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. S. Theodore (D) Out indefinitely - Upper Body. R. Lehner (G) Out indefinitely - Hip.

“Even when they scored a short-handed goal, it's just keep plugging on. That's just a metaphor for this team. When we have bad breaks or bad events, they are confident in what they are doing.” - Paul Maurice after his team’s win against the Coyotes in their game on Tuesday.

“I thought we’d be better, to be honest with you. It got to be 2-0 and we didn’t have the urgency required early on. By the time we got it, we’re chasing the game, which has happened to us lately. I’m a little disappointed in that we weren’t better out of the gate.” - Bruce Cassidy after his team’s loss against the Kraken in the Winter Classic on Monday.

LW Rodrigues, Evan

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Reinhart, Sam

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Ekblad, Aaron

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

LW Barbashev, Ivan

C Eichel, Jack

RW Stone, Mark

LD Hague, Nicolas

RD Pietrangelo, Alex

G Thompson, Logan

Points: S. Reinhart (45)

Goals: S. Reinhart (24)

Assists: A. Barkov (28)

GAA: A.Stolarz (2.05)

Points: J. Eichel (40)

Goals: J. Marchessault (17)

Assists: M. Stone (25)

GAA: A. Hill (1.93)

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (2nd season)

Vegas Golden Knights: Bruce Cassidy (2nd season)