Florida Panthers vs. Ottawa Senators - 1/2/20 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Florida Panthers vs Ottawa Senators

Date: Thursday, January 2, 2020

Location: Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON

TV: FSFL/TSN5/RDS2

Odds/Point Spread: Panthers (-130) Senators (+118)

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers (20-14-5, 4th in the Atlantic Division) are headed to Canadian Tire Centre on Thursday where they'll take on the Ottawa Senators (16-19-5, 7th in the Atlantic Division). The Panthers open this contest at -130 while the Senators are priced at +118. The total is set at 6.5. The Panthers cover 47.2% of the time, having gone 17-19 SU. The Senators cover 40.0% of the time, going 16-24 straight up.

The Florida Panthers come into this matchup holding a record of 20 wins and 14 losses, which is good for 4th in the Atlantic Division. So far this season, they have racked up a total of 136 goals which has them sitting at 5th in the conference and 6th in the NHL. Their goal differential is +5, which is good for 16th in the NHL. The Panthers have earned a total of 45 points, which has them sitting at 17th in the NHL and 9th in the conference. Regarding shots at the opposition, they have earned a total of 1,299 which has them sitting at 6th in the conference and 11th in the NHL. As a group, Florida has compiled a total of 648 hits which means they are averaging 16.6 per game. They have earned a total of 473 blocks for the season. The man protecting the net for Florida is Sergei Bobrovsky from Ogdensburg, New York. He is 31 years old and has played a total of 1,750 mins protecting the net for the season. Bobrovsky is giving up an average of 3.29 goals against average which has him sitting 28th among Eastern Conference goalies and 59th in the NHL among goalies. Over the course of this year, he's allowed 96 goals. He's earned a save percentage of .897 which has him sitting 26th among Eastern Conference goalies.

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The Florida Panthers had a rough game after their 4 - 1 defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets in their last game. The Panthers had a below average offensive performance in this loss. For this matchup, they earned a goal on 1 out of the 37 shots they put on goal. Moreover, they had 2 power play attempts but weren't able to score. Florida had 8 penalty minutes for this game. The Corsi for the Panthers sat at 63 and the Corsi against was 33 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 65.6%. Their Fenwick was 41 and the Fenwick against at even strength sat at 26, which gave them a Fenwick percentage of 61.2%. They won 25 face-off wins at even strength and lost 17 of the face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 60.7% and they had a PDO of 89.8 in this game. Concerning opponent stats, the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a total of 28 shots. They had 6 minutes in the box and they tallied 3 power play attempts.

The Senators will be on the other side of the ice and for the year they have 16 wins and 19 defeats. In connection with goal differential, they rank 14th in the Eastern Conference and 26th in the NHL with -19. They have compiled a total of 111 goals for the year which is good for 12th in the East. Ottawa has a team save % of .902 which currently has them ranked 19th in the NHL, which tells us there should be some opportunities to score. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.3% which puts them at 12th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Ottawa is Craig Anderson who is having a rough season by surrendering 2.94 goals per contest and that has him ranked 16th in the East and 35th in the NHL among goalies. In the 958 minutes he's been on the ice, he's surrendered 47 goals. His save % is .907, which puts him at 17th in the East and 35th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Ottawa Senators faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a matchup where the Senators were on the wrong end of the score by a final of 5 - 2. While out there on the ice, Ottawa wound up with a 45.0% Corsi rating. They got to that percentage by earning a Corsi of 45 and the other team having a Corsi of 55. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 45.7% by earning a Fenwick of 32 and the Penguins ending the game with a 38 Fenwick. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Ottawa had and you could say that they have had better days on the ice. Their PDO at even strength was 92.7 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 46.9%. The Senators notched 2 goals of the 26 shots on goal they pursued. They had 2 power play chances in this game but didn't put one in the back of the net. Regarding the opposition, the Penguins had 1 power play attempt but were not able to score a goal. Ottawa gave up 33 shots on goal and the Penguins earned 18 penalty mins.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Ottawa (+118)

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