The Florida Panthers (24-7-5) host the Dallas Stars (18-13-2) at FLA Live Arena on Friday in their second meeting of the season. The Panthers enter the game on a seven-game point streak (6-0-1), with their only loss over that span coming against the Stars, while Dallas is 5-1-0 in its last six outings.
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Panthers opened as home favorites going off at -217 on the moneyline, while the Stars were getting +145 as the road underdog. The total was set at 6 goals with the OVER going 7-0 in Florida’s last seven games. The Panthers own a 5-2 record over the Stars in their last seven meetings.
Dallas News & Notes
The Stars got back into the win column on Wednesday with a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken after having a four-game win streak snapped Sunday. Joe Pavelski notched a career-high five points (2-3-5), Roope Hintz added three points (1-2-3) and Jake Oettinger made 23 saves in the victory.
Pavelski, 37, has had an incredible first half of the season, posting a team-leading 15-20-35 through 33 games. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Jason Robertson has emerged as one of the NHL’s top young stars with 13-19-32 through 27 appearances. On Thursday it was announced that Pavelski’s efforts had earned him the nod as Dallas’ primary selection to the NHL All-Star Game.
Alexander Radulov, Braden Holtby and Denis Gurianov (COVID-19 protocols) are all out while Joel Hanley (personal) is probable for Friday.
Florida News & Notes
Florida beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday as Aaron Ekblad (1-2-3) and Sam Reinhart (2-1-3) led the team with three points apiece. Sergei Bobrovsky was stellar between the pipes, stopping 42 of 44 shots to earn his fifth straight win.
Jonathan Huberdeau, who tallied an assist, leads the club in scoring with 13-34-47 through 36 games. The left-winger was named as Florida’s representative at the all-star game, while head coach Andrew Brunette, who has led the Panthers to second place overall in the NHL, will be behind the bench for the Atlantic Division All-Stars.
Noel Acciari (undisclosed) is probable for Friday’s matchup.
How Dallas Will Win
Both Pavelski and Robertson have been red-hot of late, with the former scoring 14 points over an active seven-game streak and the latter collecting 12 points over an eight-game run. The Stars are the clear underdogs in this matchup and will likely need another big night from both players if they’re going to pick up a win.
How Florida Will Win
The Panthers have dominated this season, boasting the league’s second-best offense at 3.92 goals per game. In fact, they haven’t scored fewer than four goals in a game since December 16, averaging 5.42 tallies per contest over that seven-game span.
Computer Pick: Florida ML (-210)
- Best Spread-130+110DAL+1.5-1.5FLA
- Best Moneyline+186-207DALFLA
- Best Total-106-104Over6.56.5Under
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