Vegas Golden Knights vs Florida Panthers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 12/23/2023

Game Time: 3:00 pm ET, Saturday, December 23, 2023

Venue:  Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL 

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  VGK +102, Panthers -122; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  VGK +105, Panthers -125; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  VGK +105, Panthers -125; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Vegas Golden Knights:  21-8-5 (2nd place, Pacific Division)

Florida Panthers:  18-12-2 (3rd place, Atlantic Division)

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Vegas Golden Knights:  6-3-1 last 10

Florida Panthers:  5-5-0 last 10

The Golden Knights are entering this game with 47 points, a 21-8-5 record overall, and they are 9-5-3 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last game, losing that one on the road 5-4. Jonathan Marchessault led the team in goals with 2 while Paul Cotter and Ivan Barbashev each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Jack Eichel and Brayden McNabb each led the team in assists with 2 while Jack Eichel led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Jiri Patera was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 5 goals on 36 shots with 31 saves and a .861 save percentage. Their offense has scored 120 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 92 goals against them allowing 2.7 goals per game.

The Panthers are entering this game with 38 points, a 18-12-2 record overall, and they are 9-5-0 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the St Louis Blues in their last game, losing that one at home 4-1. Eetu Luostarinen scored 1 goal for them in that game. Dmitry Kulikov led the team in assists with 1 while Carter Verhaeghe led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 23 shots with 20 saves and a .870 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 92 goals this season averaging 2.9 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 85 goals against them allowing 2.7 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Panthers listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Panthers have looked really good in their games this season with their 18-12-2 record overall and their 9-5-0 home record. They haven't looked great in their games lately as they have been in a slump but they will be looking to bounce back in this game on home ice, especially with it being a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights have also looked really good in their games this season with their 21-8-5 record overall, but they have struggled more in their road games with their 9-5-3 road record. The Golden Knights haven't looked as good in their games lately either as they are also in the middle of a slump and they have a lot of their goaltenders injured so they are very thin at that position right now. The Panthers will be looking to bounce back on home ice where they have been scoring a ton and they will have the extra motivation here of getting revenge from the finals. The best way to place a bet here is on the Panthers to win this game. 

Golden Knights Panthers Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, December 23, 2023 (3:00 pm ET start time) is Panthers 4 VGK 2.

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Vegas Golden Knights: 131-89 (+11.4 units) on the moneyline in all games. 25-11 (+13.7 units) on the moneyline after a road game where both teams score 3 or more goals. 26-19 UNDER after allowing 4 goals or more 2 straight games. 9-2 UNDER after 3 straight games where both teams scored 3 goals or more. 

Florida Panthers: 43-44 (-25.2 units) on the moneyline in non-conference games. 19-17 (-5.4 units) on the moneyline off a home loss. 12-6 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive unders. 7-1 UNDER after scoring 1 goal or less in their previous game. 

Vegas Golden Knights:  L. Thompson (G) Ques Sat - Upper Body. K. Kolesar (RW) Ques Sat - Undisclosed. A. Hill (G) Early Jan - Lower Body. K. Korczak (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body. S. Theodore (D) Out indefinitely - Upper Body. R. Lehner (G) Out indefinitely - Hip.

Florida Panthers:  J. Gadjovich (LW) Ques Sat - Illness. A. Lundell (C) Out indefinitely - Illness.

“It's tough to swallow knowing that you did a lot of good things in the third to give yourself a chance to win. It's tough to find positives when you don't get any points here.” - Jack Eichel after their loss against the Lightning in their game on Thursday.

“Pucks aren't going in for us right now. That doesn't matter. It doesn't because every team goes through a stretch where they're not scoring. ... We're going to look at it, we're going to talk about it, the language won't all be clean because that's not the way we play. And they know that. This is almost an inevitable turn your team takes at one point.” - Paul Maurice after his team’s loss against the Blues in their game on Thursday.

LW Barbashev, Ivan

C Eichel, Jack

RW Stone, Mark

LD Martinez, Alec

RD Pietrangelo, Alex

G Patera, Jiri

LW Rodrigues, Evan

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Reinhart, Sam

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Ekblad, Aaron

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

Points: J. Eichel (39)

Goals: J. Marchessault (17)

Assists: J. Eichel (24)

GAA: A. Hill (1.93)

Points: S. Reinhart (39)

Goals: S. Reinhart (18)

Assists: S. Reinhart (21)

GAA: A.Stolarz (2.18)

Coaches:

Vegas Golden Knights: Bruce Cassidy (2nd season)

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (2nd season)