The Florida Panthers are surging at the exact right time.
After posting an 18-19-4 record through their first 41 games, the Cats were going to need to put together quite the second half to have a chance of making the postseason the season after they won the NHL Presidents’ Trophy.
That’s exactly what they’re doing, as the Panthers have gone 17-8-3 over their last 28 contests to put themselves just one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Panthers are big favorites on the road against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday night.
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Panthers vs. Red Wings prediction
(7 p.m. ET., NHL Network)
Florida has been excellent all over the ice in the second half, but its resurgence really starts in goal.
With Spencer Knight in the NHL’s player assistance program, Bobrovsky has started 22 of Florida’s last 28 games — including each of the last 12 — and has posted a 14-5-2 record with a .910 save percentage and a +10.1 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) in that span.
Bobrovsky’s career has been up and down since he signed a massive contract with the Panthers in 2019, but he’s giving the Cats some stellar goaltending of late.
And Florida is the type of team that just needs adequate netminding to succeed.
The Panthers rank sixth overall in goals scored per game over the course of the season, but since the second half started no team is creating more expected goals at 5-on-5 than the Cats.
Florida’s offensive form is strong enough that it can provide some breathing room for any defensive struggles.
While the Panthers have everything to play for on Monday night, the Red Wings’ season is all but over.
Detroit would need to go 12-2 over its last 14 games to have a hope of making the postseason, which is disappointing since there was a brief period right around the Trade Deadline where it looked like the Wings were going to make a real go at crashing the playoff party.
Since then, it’s been a real struggle for the Red Wings, who are 2-7-1 in their last 10 and are generating very little going forward.
Detroit’s defensive form is OK, but it will face a stern test against a Panthers team that is developing 19.8 high-danger scoring chances over its last 10 contests.
That is the best mark in the NHL during that span by a wide margin.
The Panthers should have no problems posting a crooked number against Detroit on Monday night and it’s hard to envision the Wings creating enough offense to hang around in this one.
Panthers vs. Red Wings pick
Panthers -1.5 (+132, FanDuel)