Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins NHL Picks & Predictions 1/4/2018

Thursday, January 4, 2018

TD Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Florida Panthers travel to TD Garden to play the Boston Bruins on Thursday, January 4, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Panthers at +175 and the Bruins at -195.

Florida has a record of 17-17-5 this season and on the road they have a record of 7-11-2-0. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 109 goals and given up 126 goals for a point differential of -17. For the season they have an ATS record of 17-22-0 and an over/under record of 19-20-0. Boston has a record of 22-10-6 including 13-5-3-0 at home this season. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 119 goals and surrendered 95 for a goal differential of +24. Their record against the spread is 22-16-0 while their over/under record is 17-20-0.

Valuable Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 17-22-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 19-20-0 against the over/under this season

Important Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 22-16-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 17-20-0 against the over/under this season

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

12/13/17 GO Roberto Luongo Lower Body IR (12/04)
01/02/18 RW Radim Vrbata Illness is "?" Thursday vs Boston

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

12/30/17 D Adam McQuaid Leg IR (10/19)

Player Spotlight

James Reimer has 11 wins and 10 losses this season in net for the Panthers. He has 810 shots against him and he's given up 71 goals. He's made 739 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Vincent Trocheck has accumulated 37 total points this season for the Panthers. He has 15 goals this year with 129 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 21.5 minutes played per game. Jonathan Huberdeau averages 20.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 14 goals on 104 shots. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has scored 35 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 15 goals this season with 105 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 18.3 minutes played per game. Tuukka Rask has 14 wins and 8 losses this year in goal for the Bruins. He has 702 shots against him and he's surrendered 53 goals. He's made 649 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Brad Marchand averages 20.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 21% by scoring 16 goals on 78 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers have allowed 123 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81% this year. That is 15th in the NHL. They average 34 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.23% for the season. They allow 35 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 17th in the league. The Panthers has 39 total points this season, ranking 24th in the NHL in offense. They are 22nd in the league with 109 goals while they've given up 126 goals, which is 8th overall. They have had 122 power play opportunities and scored 19 goals on those chances for a percentage of 16%. That is 27th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Bruins are 14th with 119 goals scored while they are 28th in the NHL with 95 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.81%. They give up 30 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 6th place in the league. The Bruins have a total of 50 points this year, which is 9th in the NHL. They have 26 power play goals on 126 opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That ranks their power play unit 8th. They've allowed 116 power play opportunities and have given up 18 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 84%, which is 3rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Florida has a Corsi percentage of 48.9% as they've tried 2,282 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,383 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 19th in Corsi percentage. They are 17th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 49.3% as they have 1,783 shots while they've given up 1,830 attempts on defense. The Panthers start possessions in the offensive zone 46.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 53.8% for the year. That puts them 31st and 2nd in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,276 face-off wins as opposed to 1,229 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.9%. That is 10th overall in the NHL. On defense Florida has 783 hits and they've blocked 553 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 23rd in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 54.1% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 45.9% for the year. That ranks them 3rd and 25th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,222 face-off wins as opposed to 1,167 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.2%. That is 8th in the league. On defense Boston has 887 hits and they've blocked 536 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 25th in blocked shots. Boston is ranked 6th in Corsi percentage with 51.7% as they've tried 2,260 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,109 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 5th in the NHL at 52%, as they have 1,706 shots while they've given up 1,573 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Panthers/Bruins NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Boston -195

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