Canucks: Betting odds and predictions vs. Panthers (January 11)

After another long layoff, the Vancouver Canucks (16-15-3) will return to regular season action on Tuesday night for the first time since their 5-2 victory over the Seattle Kraken on January 1st. The Canucks first game on their upcoming five-game road trip takes place in FLA Live Arena, home of the Florida Panthers.

Despite the ten day layoff between games for Vancouver, they remain one of the hottest team across the NHL. After the firing of Travis Green and the subsequent hiring of Bruce Boudreau, the Canucks went on a seven game winning streak, winning eight of nine games Boudreau’s coached, taking points in all nine occasions.

Vancouver has gone from a team that looked dead in the water and destined for a top draft pick, to a team that is alive in the playoff hunt with over half the season remaining.

After practicing in Florida with the team on Monday, the Canucks are expected to have Brock Boeser, Elias Pettersson, and Jason Dickinson back in the lineup after a spell in the league’s COVID protocols.

The opponents on Tuesday night are the surging Florida Panthers (23-7-5). After a disappointing first round exit in last year’s postseason, Florida has shot out to the league’s 2nd best points per game total through 35 games, and as a result sit atop the Atlantic Division.

After the resignation of Joel Quenneville in late October, the Panthers have continued on their great start to the season being led by interim coach Andrew Brunette. Florida boasts some top talents including the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad, all playing in front of Sergei Bobrovsky, one of the better goalies across the league this season.

Scoring an average of 3.9 goals per game, Florida tests opposing goalies with 37 shots per night, combining to make the Panthers the second best offensive team in the NHL. They can be tested defensively however, ranking in the bottom-half of teams in terms of goals allowed, shots allowed, penalty kill efficiency, and penalty minutes per game.

The odds for Tuesday’s game in Florida are courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook, the official betting partner of FanSided.

Prediction:

Whilst Vancouver players have been quarantining and/or practicing during their ten day layoff, the Florida Panthers have been doing the exact opposite, and that’s winning hockey games. The Panthers have played four games in the New Year, winning three of those matchups. They’ve won five of their last six games, and are showing no signs of slowing down. It’s tough to know how the Canucks will play coming out an extended break, so it’s tough to make any picks against the puckline. For this game I’ll be taking the over on the goal total of 6. The Panthers over has cashed in six consecutive games, and with them being the second highest scoring team in the league, I expect that trend to continue. The Canucks should come out with lots of energy, but also have rust to knock off, and that should lead to plenty of goal scoring opportunities. Vancouver’s porous penalty kill could present some easy goal-scoring chances for the Panthers to take advantage of. Trust the trends and take the over.

What are your thoughts on this upcoming game between the Canucks and Panthers? What bets will you be placing on the game? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comment section!