Florida Panthers (19-19-4) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (27-13-2)
The Florida Panthers head to Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday night to face off against the Vegas Golden Knights in the cross-conference showdown at T-Mobile Arena, and the puck drop is set for 10:00 PM ET.
Florida and Vegas lock horns for the first time this season. The Golden Knights open as -124 moneyline favorites, while the totals are listed at 6.5 goals. Last season, Vegas and Florida split a two-game set, and each team emerged victorious on the home ice.
The Florida Panthers are coming off Tuesday’s 5-4 victory at the reigning NHL champions, the Colorado Avalanche. It was their third win in four games, as the Panthers bounced back from a heavy 5-1 defeat at the Dallas Stars. The Panthers blew a 4-1 lead at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, allowing the Avs to score three times in the third period, but Matthew Tkachuk’s power-play goal lifted Florida over Colorado.
Tkachuk scored twice against the Avs, increasing his season tally to 51 points (G22, A29). The Panthers outshot the Avalanche 37-31, and Sergei Bobrovsky finished the game with 27 stops. Bobrovsky is now 10-12-1 with a 3.29 GAA and .894 save percentage in 2022-23.
Matthew Tkachuk, who is headed for his second #NHLAllStar Game, is t he fastest Tkachuk ever to hit 50 points in a season.
More info: https://t.co/2vwSiLMAyc #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/Riig9do8Xq
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 11, 2023
Spencer Knight was placed on the injured reserve last Tuesday, so Bobrovsky should get another starting call Thursday in Las Vegas. The Panthers have struggled to defend so far this season, yielding 3.43 goals per game (23rd in the NHL) and posting a 75.5 penalty-killing percentage (19th). They score 3.26 goals per game (tied-13th) and are 32-for-150 with the man advantage (18th).