NHL.com identifies key gameday matchups and players to watch throughout the 2023-24 season.
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Note: Betting lines provided by Betway (U.S., Ontario)
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1. Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, BSFL)
FLA moneyline: -185
STL moneyline: +150
The Blues are 12-6-0 and host the Panthers, who have won seven straight games; Florida’s last loss was a 4-1 defeat at home against St. Louis on Dec. 21. The Blues’ top-line forwards Pavel Buchnevich (two goals, one assist), Robert Thomas (three assists) and Jordan Kyrou (one goal, one assist) each had a multipoint game in the first game.
The Panthers, who are 13-7-2 on the road this season, rank fifth in the NHL in goals per game (3.80) since Dec. 15, while the Blues are 24th (2.67) over that span. Florida, led by Sergei Bobrovsky (20-9-1; two shutouts this season), is tied for seventh in the NHL in team save percentage (.907), while St. Louis ranks 14th (.901) in the category. Panthers forward Sam Reinhart has scored goals in three straight games (had hat trick in 8-4 win against Colorado Avalanche on Saturday) and is tied for second in the NHL in goals (28) behind Auston Matthews (30) of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
2. Vancouver Canucks at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, SNP)
VAN puckline (+1.5 goals): -245
NYI puckline (-1.5 goals): +200
The Canucks had a 4-3 home win against the Islanders on Nov. 15, when Vancouver rallied from a two-goal deficit to victory on an overtime goal by defenseman Quinn Hughes. Three Canucks players had multiple points in that game: forwards J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser and Hughes (one goal, two assists each). Vancouver is 10-2-2 in its past 14 games dating to Dec. 7 (22 points in span; second most in NHL behind Winnipeg Jets’ 26) but will be on the second of back-to-back games after a 6-3 road win against the New York Rangers on Monday.
The Islanders are coming off a 1-2-1 road trip, which ended with a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Islanders forward Bo Horvat scored a goal against the Canucks, his former team, earlier in the season, and his frequent linemate Mathew Barzal had two assists in the game. Three of New York’s 10 home wins this season have come by multiple goals.
3. Los Angeles Kings at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUN, BSW, NHLN, TVAS)
Over 6 total goals: -122
Under 6 total goals: +102
The Lightning have the second-best power-play percentage in the NHL (29.0) this season, but the Kings have the best penalty kill percentage in the League (87.4). Los Angeles goalie Cam Talbot has the best save percentage (.923 in 26 games) among the 29 NHL goalies who have played at least 20 games this season, but the Kings are on a five-game winless streak (0-3-2). The Lightning are coming off a 7-3 road loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in points (67 in 40; one ahead of Nathan MacKinnon’s 66 in 41 games) and power-play points (30) this season. The Lightning have four point-per-game players: forwards Kucherov, Brayden Point (42 in 41 games), Steven Stamkos (38 in 38) and defenseman Victor Hedman (39 in 39). Los Angeles has two point-per-game players in forwards Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe (each has 36 points in 36 games). The Kings are 13-3-1 on the road, while the Lightning are 11-5-3 at home.
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