The Florida Panthers (19-11-2) travel to face off against the Minnesota Wild (20-7-4) on Wednesday, December 18th. This game will be played at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and televised on TNT. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Puck drop is set for 9:30 ET.

Panthers vs Wild

The Florida Panthers Are Coming Off A Win

With a 4-2 win over the Stars, the Panthers improved to 19-11-2 this season. Florida covered the puck line as -1.5 goal favorites, and the total of 6 goals fell short of the 6.5 goal line.

Four different players scored for Florida, including Sam Reinhart, who sealed the game with an empty-net goal. The Panthers led 2-0 before the Stars tied it, but A.J. Greer’s goal in the third period put Florida ahead for good.

The Minnesota Wild Are Coming Off A Win

With a 2-1 overtime win against the Maple Leafs, the Wild improved to 20-7-4 this season. Minnesota was favored on the puck line, but the game’s total of 3 goals fell short of the pre-game line of 6.

Ryan Hartman opened the scoring for the Wild at 9:41 in the first period, but the Maple Leafs tied it up with just 52 seconds left in the period. Matt Boldy netted the game-winner at 2:14 in overtime.

Florida Offense Breakdown

Florida’s offense generated 4 goals in their 4-2 win over the Stars, with A.J. Greer scoring his first goal of the season and Sam Reinhart adding his 10th on an empty net. The Panthers had 25 shots on goal and scored once on the power play.

They had 16 giveaways and scored in each period, including twice in the third. Four different players found the net, with Tomas Nosek earning his first assist of the year.

Wild Offense Breakdown

Ryan Hartman netted his third goal of the season, putting the Wild on the board with a goal at 9:41 in the first period. Matt Boldy followed with his sixth goal, scoring the game-winner 2:14 into overtime.

Jared Spurgeon picked up two assists, bringing his season total to three. Marco Rossi added his seventh assist on Boldy’s OT goal. The Wild fired 33 shots on goal but were held scoreless in the second and third periods.

Florida Team Defense

Spencer Knight made 23 saves with a 92% save percentage, helping the Panthers secure a 4-2 win over the Stars. Florida’s defense also contributed 8 takeaways and 22 hits. After giving up two goals in the 2nd period, the Panthers’ defense shut out Dallas in the 3rd.

Minnesota Team Defense

Defensively, the Wild will look to carry over their performance from last game, where they allowed just 1 goal to Toronto. Filip Gustavsson made 27 saves, finishing with a 96.4% save percentage. The Wild’s defense also recorded 7 takeaways, 22 hits, and 8 blocks.

Panthers vs Wild Trends

• Across their ten previous road games, Florida has an puck line mark of 4-6. Their straight up record in these matchups was 5-5 while averaging 3 goals per game.
• Across their last three home contests, Minnesota has a 2-1 record vs the spread. Their overall mark in these games was 1-2, while averaging 2 goals per game.
• As the betting underdog, the Wild have an puck line mark of just 2-3 in their last five games. Minnesota posted a straight up mark of 1-4 in these matchups.
• Spanning across their last three games as the betting favorite, the Panthers have gone 0-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 1-2.

Panthers vs Wild Prediction

For a moneyline bet, I’m backing the Wild to secure a victory over the Panthers at home. With the moneyline currently set at +116, I’m locking in my bet on the Wild straight-up.

If you’re looking to get a bet down on this matchup, we foresee the Wild winning the underdog. However, if you’re not as confident in the Wild straight-up, we’d still recommend placing a bet on them to cover the puck line.

If you’re looking at the over/under line set at 5.5 goals, our prediction is that this game will exceed that mark, and we strongly advise placing a bet on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.