Wednesday brings a jam-packed night of NHL action highlighted by several marquee matchups including a clash between a proven powerhouse and an up-and-coming contender. The two-time defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers will take on the surging Detroit Red Wings in what promises to be a high-energy showdown.
Florida aims to bounce back from its first loss of the season to the Flyers on Monday and extend its dominant 23-4-1 record against Detroit over their last 28 meetings. Meanwhile, the Red Wings return home riding the momentum of back-to-back victories over the Maple Leafs.
With a full slate of games and plenty of opportunities to cash in, Wednesday’s action should deliver excitement across the board. We’re looking to carry our early-season success forward building on last year’s strong player prop performances in Mitch Marner, Mark Scheifele, Wyatt Johnston, Rasmus Dahlin, Teuvo Teravainen and Connor Hellebuyck.
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Bedard, Kyrou Back Offense in High-Scoring Hawks-Blues MatchupChicago's Connor Bedard and St. Louis' Jordan Kyrou headline Best Bets options for Wednesday's marquee matchup between the Hawks and Blues.Detroit Red Wings vs Florida Panthers Best Bets
Under 5.5 Goals (+105)
Red Wings +1.5 (-200) Parlay Add
Sam Bennett Under 0.5 Points (Pending Odds)
The Red Wings and Panthers rarely push their offensive limits when facing off as they normally see defensive showdowns with five or fewer goals in 16 of their last 23 matchups with the under hitting in three consecutive matchups when playing in Detroit. This has been held up mainly by Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky, who has a otherworldly record against the Red Wings with a 28-7-2 record, a 1.85 goals against average and a .935 save percentage in 38 appearances.
To combat this, Detroit is expected to turn to their former all-star netminder in John Gibson. The former longtime Ducks goaltender had a troubling debut with the Red Wings, allowing five goals and being pulled at the end of the second period. We can expect a much better response out of the 32-year-old Pittsburgh native as he will need to keep up with Bobrovsky if he wants to give his team a chance.
Gibson's numbers in this matchup aren't as impressive with a 4-8-3 record and a 3.29 goals-against average but those numbers are likely a reflection of the Ducks’ struggles during his tenure. Despite that, his individual performance stood out, as he recorded a solid .918 save percentage over 16 games against the Panthers. He’ll look to build on that success this Wednesday.
He'll look to styme a Panthers offense that is without Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk as well as their active players like Sam Bennett struggling to start the season with one point through four games. Bennett also has no points in three straight meetings and managing points in only four of his last 11 games versus Detroit since joining the Panthers. Playoff healthy scratches like Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues have been carrying the load for the Panthers early on in the season and should mean a low-scoring affair.
Canadiens Emerging as Smart Stanley Cup Sleeper PickReports indicate the Canadiens are expected to be active this offseason, making their long Stanley Cup odds an intriguing value for bettors.