Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers Prediction, 12/30/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers

Date: Saturday, December 30, 2023

Location: FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, FL

TV: Bally Sports Florida

Odds/Point Spread: Canadiens (+195) Panthers (-245)

The Florida Panthers (20-12-2) will try to beat the Montreal Canadiens (15-14-5) at FLA Live Arena on Saturday. The line on this matchup has Montreal at +195 and Florida opens at -245. The over/under has been set at 7.

The Montreal Canadiens will look for better times on the ice after their 5-3 defeat to the Hurricanes in their previous game. The Canadiens had a middle of the road showing in the loss. For the game, they scored on 3 out of the 21 shots they put on net. They also had 4 chances with extra men on the ice and scored 1 goal. Montreal accrued 6 penalty minutes in this matchup.

Montreal Canadiens opponents have tallied 118 power play opportunities (7th in hockey) and have a total of 32 goals in those chances. The Canadiens have had 1,140 shots attempted against them and hold a save percentage of .900. Montreal has taken 986 shots and is the owner of a shot percentage of 9.6%. At even strength, the Canadiens have surrendered 82 goals while scoring 73 themselves. Montreal comes into tonight with 123 power play chances and they have notched 22 goals during those advantages, garnering them a rate of 17.89%. For the season, they have 35 points and their points percentage comes in at .515. With regard to their scoring, the Montreal Canadiens have accumulated 95 goals (28th in hockey) so far this year and have given up 114.

The man protecting the goal in this game is Sam Montembeault. Montembeault has been in net for 118 games throughout his NHL career. He has a record of 40-49-15 and he has started in 102 games. Opponents have been able to score 367 goals versus Montembeault in his pro hockey career and his goals against average is 3.40. Montembeault has seen 3,570 shot attempts against him and he has 3,203 total saves. He has a save percentage of .897 for his 6,471 mins guarding the cage. For his professional hockey career, Montembeault has accrued 50 quality starts and his percentage for quality starts is .490.

In their last game, Florida squared up with the Lightning in a matchup where the Panthers took home the win by a tally of 3-2. The Panthers scored 3 goals out of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 3 power play opportunities in this matchup but weren't able to finish one of them with a goal.

Florida has attempted 1,162 shots (3rd in hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 8.52%, while allowing the other team 922 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 83.33% on the other teams 108 power play opportunities, and their save percentage is 90.5%. They have a total of 109 opportunities on the power play and they have earned a power play rate of 18.35%. The Panthers have earned 79 goals at even strength and 20 goals (21st in pro hockey) while on the power play. They have allowed 88 goals to be scored by way of 70 goals at even strength and 18 goals while they had less men on the ice. This season, the Florida Panthers have earned a total of 99 goals, 42 points, in addition to a points percentage of .618.

On the other side of the ice you will find Sergei Bobrovsky defending the goal. Opponents are averaging 2.60 goals/game and he has relinquished 1,666 goals overall. Bobrovsky's quality start percentage comes in at 57.2% and he has qualified for 373 quality starts in his pro career. He has started in 652 games and has accumulated 38,436 mins. Bobrovsky is sitting with a career record of 376-216-52 and has played in 668 games. He has accrued 17,873 stops out of 19,539 shots attempted against him, which gives him a percentage of .915.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Montreal (+195)

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