Florida Panthers (17-5-4) vs Chicago Blackhawks (14-9-5)
Game Info: Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 7:00 pm (BB&T Center)
Betting Odds: Florida Panthers -155 / Chicago Blackhawks +135 --- Over/Under: 6 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Chicago Blackhawks and the Florida Panthers meet in NHL action from the BB&T Center on Saturday night.
The Chicago Blackhawks come into this game looking to build on a 4-2 win over the Dallas Stars in their last matchup. Patrick Kane leads Chicago in scoring with 40 points including a team-high 29 assists, as many assists as Alex DeBrincat has points in 2nd with a team-high 15 goals this season. Chicago is averaging 3 goals per game on 30.2 shots per game while boasting a 30.4% power play percentage this season. The Blackhawks are also allowing 3.1 goals per game on 34.5 shots per game which is the most in the NHL. The Blackhawks also have a 72.3% percentage on the penalty kill this season.
The Florida Panthers will look to build on their 5-4 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets last time out. Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers in scoring with 32 points including a team-high 22 assists while Aleksander Barkov has 28 points with 9 goals and 19 assists and Patric Hornqvist leads Florida in goals with 11 goals to match his 11 assists this season. Florida is averaging 3.3 goals per game on 34 shots per contest, which is the most in the NHL up to this point. The Panthers also have a 26% power play percentage on the year. The Panthers are also allowing 2.8 goals per game on 31 shots per game with a penalty kill percentage of 78.1% this season.
Chicago is 7-2 in their last 9 road games and 5-2 in their last 7 games as a road underdog while the over is 4-0 in their last 4 games overall. Florida is 4-1 in their last 5 games overall and 7-3 in their last 10 games as a home favorite while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games playing on 1 days rest. Chicago is 1-4 in the last 5 meetings between these two teams.
I get why the plus money with Chicago is worth a look as the Blackhawks have been a moneymaker for us this season. However, the Panthers are simply a runaway train right now, and it’s never often that this Panthers team stays down when they falter. The Panthers are just the team in better form right now, winning 4 of their last 5 and I think you have to back them again but to get the price down, I’ll take Florida to win this one in regulation to get it around even money.
Chris’s Pick Florida in Regulation +100
AUTHOR: Chris Ruffolo
Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg