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Two consecutive defeats take the New Jersey Devils (2nd in Metropolitan Division) to a road contest against the Florida Panthers (4th in Atlantic), who are currently riding a five-game point streak with four victories.
Devils Lose Two In Row
The New Jersey Devils (44-17-7) dropped their second consecutive decision (0-1-1) after rounding off their latest three-game homestand with a 1-1-1 total following a 4-3 shootout setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Prudential Center on Thursday. Timo Meier (34 goals, 56 points this year) bagged two regulation snipes for the Devils, who tied the game on three occasions before being beaten with two markers to one in three rounds of the skills competition. Tomas Tatar (16 goals, 40 points) also tallied during regular play, while Yegor Sharangovich (12 goals, 27 points) scored the only shootout snipe for New Jersey, which lost two games in a row for the first time since Dec. 23-28.
Goalie Akira Schmid made 21 saves on Thursday and has now gone 8-4-2 for the season with a 1.98 GAA and a .924 save percentage. He has recorded a 0-1-0 past tally versus Florida with a 3.11 GAA and a .893 save percentage, while Vitek Vanecek (28-8-3 on the year with a 2.52 GAA and a .908 save percentage) is 0-0-1 against the Panthers previously with a 3.30 GAA and a .867 save percentage. The Devils, meanwhile, are netting the 4th highest amount of goals per game this season (3.49), while giving up the 4th lowest quantity defensively (2.66). They are 15th in power play (21.5%) and 9th in penalty kill (82.0%).
Cats Expand Point Run
The current point streak of the Florida Panthers (34-27-7) extended to five matchups after the team notched its fourth victory in the past five outings (4-0-1) following a 9-5 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens at FLA Live Arena on Thursday. Carter Verhaeghe (34 goals, 59 points this year) and Aaron Ekblad (12 goals, 30 points) each scored twice, while Matthew Tkachuk (31 goals, 91 points) picked up a snipe and three assists for the Cats, who buried seven goals in the opening frame, setting a new franchise record for most markers in a single period. Florida now trails both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders by three points for the 1st Wild Card of the Eastern Conference, having two games in hand over the Isles.
Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 shots on Thursday to take his current performance status to 22-17-3 for the season with a 3.03 GAA and a .903 save percentage. He has registered an 18-6-1 career record against the New Jersey Devils with a 2.42 GAA and a .920 save percentage. The Panthers, meanwhile, are scoring the 5th highest number of goals per game during the 2022-23 campaign (3.47), while allowing the 10th highest amount in their defensive zone (3.38). They are sitting 11th in power play with a 22.2% success rate and are 5th from the bottom in power play with a 74.0% effectiveness.
Best Bets for this Game
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
Hats off to the Panthers, who are currently riding a five-game point streak with four victories (4-0-1) after alternating wins with defeats for 10 straight contests prior, and have now positioned themselves within just three points of the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders, who are tied for the 1st Wild Card of the Eastern Conference, with the Isles having played two extra outings. A six-game losing skid back in December aside, New Jersey has been excellent throughout the whole current campaign and has now dropped two consecutive fixtures (both - home games against the Tampa Bay Lightning) for the first time since Dec. 23-28. Still, while the Devils are presently riding a six-game point streak on the road (5-0-1), do expect a difficult trip to Sunshine. New Jersey has managed to win just two of its previous nine away matchups at the Panthers, who, in turn, have triumphed in six of their most recent seven assignments against opponents from the Eastern Conference.
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Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
Out of the very last nine head-to-head encounters between New Jersey and Florida, six have witnessed at least seven markers on the scoresheet, averaging no less than a whopping 9.17 (!!!) snipes per game. So, expecting another goal-fest from the pair on Saturday is more than a reasonable proposition! When playing following a single day’s break, the Devils have already cruised past the set goal-mark on eight of the previous 12 occasions. Four of the most recent five outings of the Panthers against teams from the Metropolitan Division, meanwhile, have all delivered on the offensive end of the ice.