Free NHL Picks Today: Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers 3/30/23

Free NHL Picks Today: Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers 3/30/23
Thu 30th March 2023

The Florida Panthers (-235) travel to take on the Montreal Canadiens (+190) at Bell Centre on Thursday. The total is 6.5 (O: -125, U: +105)Florida (37-31-7) is playing the second of a back-to-back after earning a 3-2 overtime win over the Maple Leafs yesterday, snapping a streak of four consecutive defeats.

The Panthers committed five penalties in the game, though they held Toronto without a power play goal. Sam Reinhart, Brandon Montour, and Anton Lundell scored one apiece for the Panthers. Montour and Reinhart both added an assist to lead the team in scoring.

Alex Lyon had a great performance with 38 saves (.950%) in the win. Montreal (30-39-6) is back home for a four-game homestand after a 3-2 loss against the Flyers on Tuesday. Brendan Gallagher and Rafael Harvey-Pinard both scored once for the Canadiens. Cayden Primeau had 24 saves in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Panthers have won all three games between the teams this season, including a 9-5 victory in their most recent meeting on March 16, their third straight win against Montreal.

Matthew Tkachuk led Florida with four points (1G 3A). Mike Matheson and Anthony Richard each had two points (1G 1A) to lead Montreal. Sergei Bobrovsky got the win despite allowing five goals on 30 shots (.833%).

FACING OFF

Florida is averaging 3.44 goals per game for the season, sixth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Canadiens team that is allowing 3.65 goals a game (26th).

Meanwhile, Montreal has found the net 2.83 times a game on average, 26th in the league, and the Panthers are allowing opponents to score 3.43 goals per game (23rd).

Florida averages more shots/game (36.6) than any other team in the league, though the team’s 9.5% shooting percentage ranks 26th. Montreal’s average of 27.6 attempts ranks 30th.

Power play opportunities are likely to be plentiful for the Canadiens, as the Panthers are averaging 4.63 penalties per game, most in the NHL.

The visitors’ 11.57 penalty minutes a game ranks third-highest. The home team has been penalized 4.28 times a game (8th) for an average of 11.65 minutes (1st).

The Canadiens will be seeking to build on their 28th-ranked power play percentage of 17.05% against the Panthers, who are the league’s fifth-weakest penalty killing team (74.34%).

Florida, meanwhile, has scored on 21.74% of their power play opportunities (13th), which the visiting team will be aiming to improve on against Montreal’s 29th-ranked 73.58% penalty killing rate.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 97 points this season, fifth-most in the NHL, Tkachuk is the top skater for the Panthers. He is among the league leaders with 62 assists (8th) and has added 35 goals of his own. In the net, Bobrovsky (24-20-3) is Florida’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 3.07 GAA and a .901% save percentage.

Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring with 61 points. He has 23 goals and 38 assists. Sam Montembeault (15-14-3) has the best goals against average for Montreal at 3.28. He has a save percentage of .905%. Jake Allen (15-24-3) has played the most games in net for the Canadiens this season. He has a 3.55 GAA and a .891% save percentage.

HOME AND AWAY

Florida is 16-19-3 away from FLA Live Arena this season. Montreal is 16-17-3 at Bell Centre this season. Meanwhile, the Panthers are 2-9 without a day off and 1-8 playing with a rest disadvantage. The Canadiens are 3-1 with a rest advantage.

SportsTips’ NHL Pick:

Florida Panthers (-200)

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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.

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