Devils vs Panthers Betting (Dec. 21): Can Florida Defeat New Jersey for the Second Time in 5 Days?

The New Jersey Devils are set to pay the Florida Panthers a visit on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Although we’re not even at the halfway point of the season, this is still an important game between two teams that could really use a win right now. With the stakes being somewhat higher than normal, NHL enthusiasts are going to want to tune into tonight’s Devils vs Panthers matchup.

Tune in tonight when the New Jersey Devils take on the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena.

? 07:00 PM
? TNT
#️⃣ #NJDvsFLA pic.twitter.com/2uco4Lb4ab

— NJDevils Game Bot (@NJDevilsGameBot) December 21, 2022

The Devils just haven’t been able to pick up a win lately, losing their last six games in a row. Their latest loss came just under 24 hours ago, falling 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on the road. Considering how New Jersey hasn’t won an away game since Dec. 3, a stronger effort is needed tonight.

Meanwhile, the Panthers can’t get any consistency going. They’re 5-5-0 in their last 10 games, mainly alternating between wins and losses. Unfortunately, they dealt with the latter in their last outing, getting blown out 7-3 by the Boston Bruins on Monday.

As with most notable matchups, there are plenty of betting opportunities in this Devils vs Panthers tilt. Here’s a look at BetOnline Sportsbook’s latest odds for the games, as well as a prediction and the best bet to make, courtesy of Betting News.

New Jersey Devils vs Florida Panthers Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: New Jersey Devils (21-9-2, 11-2-1 Away) vs. Florida Panthers (15-14-4, 8-4-3 Home)
• Venue & Location: FLA Live Arena (Sunrise, Florida)
• Date: Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022
• Game Time: 7 p.m. Eastern Time
• Devils vs Panthers Info: TNT

Devils vs Panthers Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline as of Wednesday, Dec. 21 at 10:54 a.m. ET. Odds from other top online sportsbooks may also be mentioned in this article.

Spread

• New Jersey Devils +1.5 (-215)
• Florida Panthers -1.5 (+172)

Over/Under

• Over 6.5 Goals (-118)
• Under 6.5 Goals (-104)

Moneyline

• New Jersey Devils +116
• Florida Panthers -140

New Jersey Devils vs Florida Panthers Betting Trends

• New Jersey is 1-5 straight up in its last six games against Florida.
• Florida is 10-3 straight up in its last 13 games against the Metropolitan Division.
• The total has hit the over in six of New Jersey’s last eight games against Florida.
• The total has hit the over in six of Florida’s last nine home games.

Devils vs Panthers Prediction and Picks

Devils vs Panthers Prediction: Panthers 5, Devils 3

Devils vs Panthers Picks: Panthers ML (Best Value: -140 at BetOnline) & Over 6.5 Goals (Best Value: -118 at BetOnline)

You don’t have to go too far back to find the last time that the Devils and Panthers collided. The two Eastern Conference foes met on this past Saturday, resulting in a 4-2 victory for Florida thanks to a two-goal effort from Sam Reinhart.

The victory also helped the Panthers improve to 8-3-1 in their last 11 games against the Devils. Now, Florida has the advantage of playing tonight’s game at FLA Live Arena — a location that New Jersey hasn’t been victorious in since April 2019.

In fact, the Panthers have beaten the Devils in nine of the last 11 matchups in Sunrise. Having said that, a good chunk of those games were close ones as eight of them were decided by only one goal.

Still, it’s hard to imagine the Devils keeping this one close with how bad they’ve been lately. They’ve been outscored 24-12 during their six-game skid, losing each game by an average of two goals. What’s even worse is that New Jersey has allowed at least four goals in all but one of those contests.

Unfortunately for the Devils, the Panthers average the 10th-most goals in the NHL (3.33 per game). And even though Florida is just 4-3-2 in its last nine home games, it has recorded at least four goals in seven of those tilts.

One of the main reasons why the Devils have struggled lately is that their power play has been awful. While their PP unit has been terrible for the majority of the season (19.2%, eighth-worst), things have gotten worse lately as the Devils are only 2-of-17 (11.8%) on the man advantage in their last six games.

The Panthers’ penalty kill hasn’t been anything special overall, but it has killed 80.0% of calls in their last 10 home games — ninth-best in that stretch. In other words, it doesn’t look like Florida has much to fear if New Jersey does end up on the power play.

At the end of the day, I’m going with the Panthers to win this one. They have the advantage on offense and special teams, and have actually tasted victory lately. Until the Devils show that they can be somewhat competitive, there aren’t many reasons to like them from a betting perspective.

In addition to recommending a Panthers outright victory, I’m also backing the total to go over 6.5 goals. For starters, the over has hit in six of Florida’s last nine home games, as well as in six of the last eight Devils vs Panthers matchups, combining for an average of 8.3 goals in those meetings.

With the two sides hardly playing flawless hockey lately, I see the opportunity for many goals to be scored tonight. In what should be an exciting matchup, the over makes the most sense.

Other New Jersey vs Florida Resources

• Devils vs Panthers Consensus Picks, Score Projections & Betting Stats