Panthers vs Wild Prediction
The Florida Panthers and Minnesota Wild face off Thursday in an NHL showdown at the Xcel Energy Center.
How Will Sergei Bobrovsky Perform Here?
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start in goal for the Florida Panthers and the big question is how will he perform. Bobrovsky was inconsistent during the regular season last year for the Panthers, but during the playoffs he showed up in a big way and he was a big reason they were able to make the Stanley Cup Finals. Matthew Tkachuk also had a big postseason and he is also going to need to have a big season. Tkachuk with a big season could end up winning the Hart Trophy.
Will the Wild Goaltending Be Good Enough?
Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury are both expected to play plenty in goal this season, and both looked really good at times last season, and at other times they both really struggled. In the last preseason game against the Stars the Wild looked really good scoring four goals on the way to the victory. It was four different goal scorers but Kirill Kaprizov had another strong game finishing with a goal and three shots on goal. If the goaltending is good, the Wild will be in good shape.
Shane’s Free Pick
This game is going to be lower scoring. Bobrovsky and the Minnesota goaltending is going to be good. Both offenses are going to really struggle to get any type of offense going, and that is going to be the difference here as this game is going to be lower scoring. I expect only three or four goals total to be scored, and this game is going to stay under the total. There isn’t a strong play on the side one way or the other.
