Florida Panthers at Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Picks & Predictions 12/20/2018

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Scotiabank Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Florida Panthers head to Scotiabank Arena to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, December 20, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Panthers at +175 and the Maple Leafs at -215.

Florida has a record of 13-13-6 this year. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They've tallied 106 goals and surrendered 115 goals for a point differential of -9. For the year they have an ATS mark of 12-19-0 and an over/under record of 16-12-0. Toronto has a record of 22-10-2 this season. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 124 goals and given up 95 for a goal differential of +29. Their record against the spread is 21-12-0 while their over/under mark is 15-15-0.

Valuable Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 12-19-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 16-12-0 against the over/under this season

Important Toronto Maple Leafs Betting Trends

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 21-12-0 straight up this year

The Toronto Maple Leafs are 15-15-0 against the over/under this season

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

12/18/18 C Nick Bjugstad Upper Body is doubtful Thursday vs Toronto
12/13/18 C Vincent Trocheck Ankle is out indefinitely
10/23/18 C Derek MacKenzie Shoulder is out indefinitely

Key Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Evgeni Dadonov has scored 33 total points this year for the Panthers. He has 16 goals this season with 96 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 17 assists on the year and averages 19 minutes played per contest. Aleksander Barkov averages 23.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by tallying 15 goals on 92 attempts. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the year. Roberto Luongo has 7 wins and 5 losses this season in goal for the Panthers. He has 426 shots against him and he's surrendered 40 goals. He's made 386 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Morgan Rielly has 36 total points this season for the Maple Leafs. He has 11 goals this year with 90 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 25 assists on the year and averages 22.4 minutes played per contest. Mitch Marner averages 19.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 9% by scoring 9 goals on 96 attempts. He has 35 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the year. Frederik Andersen has 18 wins and 9 losses this season in net for the Maple Leafs. He has 911 shots against him and he's given up 70 goals. He's made 841 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers have 32 total points this year, which is 25th in the NHL. They've scored 106 goals while giving up 115 scores, which has them ranked 16th and 7th respectively. They have had 123 power play chances and scored 34 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 28%. That is 4th in the league. The Panthers have given up 98 power play opportunities and surrendered 20 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 17th when short-handed. They average 35 shots per contest and as a team shoot 9.36% for the year. They allow 31 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 89%, which is 29th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Maple Leafs are 2nd in the league with a total of 46 points this season. They have 21 power play goals on 94 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 11th in the NHL. They've given up 90 power play opportunities and surrendered 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking 18th overall. As a team, the Maple Leafs are 2nd with a total of 124 goals scored while they've given up 95 goals this season, ranking 23rd in goals against. They average 32 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.44%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them 3rd overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Florida is 7th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.2%, as they've attempted 1,957 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,789 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 52.7% as they have 1,504 attempts while they have given up 1,350 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 6th in the league. The Panthers start possessions in the offensive zone 51.5% of the time, which is 12th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.5% for the season. That is 20th overall in the NHL. They have 1,031 face-off wins compared to 1,037 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.9%. That ranks them 17th in the league. On defense Florida has 671 hits and they have blocked 439 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Maple Leafs are 16th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 50.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 49.5% for the season, which is 17th in the NHL. They have 1,093 face-off wins compared to 1,021 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.7%. That is 8th in the league. On defense Toronto has 592 hits and they have blocked 471 shots from the opposition, which is 18th in the league. Toronto is 11th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.8% as they've attempted 2,157 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,091 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.7% ranks 18th as they have 1,598 attempts while they have given up 1,620 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Florida +175

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