Nashville Predators - Florida Panthers predictions and free betting tips [23/01/2024]

The Nashville Predators will host the Florida Panthers tomorrow morning as part of the regular NHL championship.

Nashville Predators

The Nashville Predators, despite their best efforts, fell to the Arizona Coyotes 3-2. In this game, Swiss defender Roman Josi brought home a crucial puck, making him the team's highest-scoring defender with 167 goals. The team, with a modest home record of 13-11-0, faces challenges, particularly faced with the Florida Panthers' successful away game track record. Goaltender Juuse Saros, who has played in 36 matches this season with a 18-17-1 record, is likely to start for the 6th consecutive time.

The Predators' offense is showing strong stats, averaging 3.07 goals per game. Defenders Roman Josi and Alexandre Carrier have also contributed significantly to the team's offensive actions. However, the defense is struggling, conceding on average 3.09 goals per game. The goalkeeping squad, including Juuse Saros, have also faced challenges, although young Russian goalkeeper Yaroslav Askarov showed a promising debut.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers have recently been experiencing difficulties in their game, losing four consecutive games following a nine-game winning streak. For example, they fell 6-4 against Minnesota Wild, with their usually trustworthy defensive line suffering, conceding five out of six powerplay goals, a feat not accomplished by Minnesota for 19 years. Defender Aaron Ekblad has noted issues with penalties, affecting game results. The Panthers have recently been incurring high penalties, one of the leaders in the NHL in terms of penalty minutes and removals. Goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky has had a solid season overall but he experienced a dip in performance in the last 5 games and was replaced after 4 goals on 20 shots in the first half of the last game.

Sam Reinhart leads the Florida team in points and goals. Aleksander Barkov, the Panthers' assists leader, has missed recent games due to an injury. Florida boasts impressive attacking results, averaging 3.16 goals per game. Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe are key players in the offense, and the defense also play a crucial role, with just 2.64 goals conceded per game. Despite his recent dip, Bobrovsky has been largely stable throughout the season and remains a reliable first-choice, but he may be rested for the match against Nashville.

Head-to-Head

In their most recent match on 26th September 2023, the Panthers triumphed over the Predators with a score of 5:2. They also won convincingly 5:0 on 25th September. Back on 3rd March, Nashville triumphed over Florida with a score of 2:1. On 18th February, a match between the teams ended in a victory for Nashville with a score of 7:3.

Prediction for the Nashville Predators - Florida Panthers match

After a 9-game unbeaten run, followed by a streak of four losses, it's high time Florida woke up. Antony Stolarz, with a 91.25% save percentage over 13 games, could replace Bobrovsky. I reckon that the Panthers' offence will overwhelm the Predators' defense and put an end to their losing streak. Lately, when Nashville does win, it is hard-fought and they currently occupy the 8th spot in the Western conference.