Free Daily NCAA Lock Pick, Wednesday October 11th: Sam Houston vs New Mexico State 9:00pmET
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The Florida Panthers face the Minnesota Wild with both teams looking to put together great seasons. The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final last season and with the same core group, they look to take the next step and win it all. The Wild ended last season with the third-best record in the Central Division but were eliminated in the First Round and hope to emerge as Cup contenders this season. The Panthers look to start strong in the Atlantic Division while the Wild hope to once again make noise in the Central Division and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final last season behind a remarkable offense that scored 3.51 goals per game. Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, and Carter Verhaeghe scored 105 goals and 155 assists and look to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense will also be great this season. Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, and Eetu Luostarinen combined for 64 goals and 86 assists and will add depth to the forward unit while defenseman Gustav Forsling looks to open up the offense after adding 13 goals and 28 assists from the point last season.
The offense was great but the defense almost kept them out of the playoffs, allowing 3.32 goals per game and the unit will need to improve if the Panthers want to make the playoffs once again. Gustav Forsling and Joshua Mahura look to lead the top two lines but the rest of the unit is a concern, especially with Brandon Montour starting the season out on the injured reserve. Additionally, goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky looks to bounce back after a season where he had a .901 save percentage and a 3.07 goals-against average on 1466 shots.
Free Daily NCAA Lock Pick, Wednesday October 11th: Sam Houston vs New Mexico State 9:00pmET CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW