Panthers vs Rangers Odds & Prediction: Florida Hopes To Keep Rolling In New York

Two Eastern Conference powerhouses hook up Tuesday night as the Florida Panthers (32-9-5) visit the New York Rangers (29-13-4). The Panthers, who scored eight goals in a win last night, are tops in the NHL with 69 points, while the Blueshirts are fifth with 62 points. See below for analysis, insight and a Panthers vs Rangers prediction.  

Panthers vs Rangers Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds

The Rangers are a rare home underdog in this one. Florida opened as the favorite at -138, but that number has climbed on most sites following their fourth consecutive win, an 8-4 drubbing of Columbus last night. The total opened at 6, but the consensus is now 6.5. That is not surprising considering each of the last 10 meetings between these teams has gone OVER.   

Get the best Panthers vs Rangers odds and lines available from our recommended sportsbooks for your favorite picks of the night.

Florida’s High-Flying Offense Being Led By NHL’s Points Leader

Jonathan Huberdeau is on an absolute tear right now. But before we get to that – a special shout-out to the Panthers’ third line of Sam Reinhart, Mason Marchment and Anton Lundell, who had themselves a game last night. Reinhart recorded a hat trick, Marchment had a career-high six points and Lundell collected five assists as they combined for 15 points. But there is no denying who the offensive catalysts are on this team.

Huberdeau leads the NHL with 63 points, two better than Leon Draisaitl. He has 30 points in his last 16 games and currently sits at +500 to win the Art Ross Trophy. Aleksander Barkov, meanwhile, is having another solid season with 38 points in just 33 games, missing some time with an upper-body injury. 
 
The Panthers are scoring goals in bunches this season. They have found the back of the net a league-high 190 times. That’s 12 more than the Avalanche, who sit second, and 38 more than the Lightning and Wild, who have 152 goals each. 

New York’s Stars Are Producing On A Consistent Basis

If I had told you back in October that the Rangers would be fighting for top spot in the NHL and that Chris Kreider would be leading the NHL in goals halfway through the season, you may not have believed me. But that is the case. Kreider has 10 goals in his last nine games and is up to 31 on the season, tied for the most with Draisaitl. But despite that, you can still get him at +1000 to win the Rocket Richard Trophy.  

His linemate, Mika Zibanejad, is also putting up big numbers recently with 15 points in his last 10 games. The team’s leading scorer, Artemi Panarin, has five multi-point games in his last eight contests. 

But the Rangers will only go as far as goaltender Igor Shesterkin takes them. He is 13-2 in his last 15 decisions and has the third-best goals-against average in the NHL at 2.10. He remains the favorite to win the Vezina Trophy (+225). 

Panthers vs Rangers Pick & Insights

Panthers: Keys To Victory

The Panthers know they likely won’t score eight goals against Shesterkin and company. If they want to beat New York, they will need to tighten up defensively after giving up 17 goals in their last five games. And with a pedestrian 9-6-5 road record, you may need to think twice before making your Panthers vs Rangers pick.

Rangers: Keys To Victory

To say the loss of defenseman Adam Fox last week to an upper-body injury is massive is an understatement. If the Rangers want to prove they are in Florida’s class and beat the league’s top team, they will need their blue-line corps to step up and fill this void. They will depend heavily on Jacob Trouba to log more minutes and quarterback their power play. 

Odds Shark’s Computer Panthers vs Rangers Prediction: Panthers -160

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