Golden Knights goaltender Ilya Samsonov rides 7-3-0 record and 2.22 goals against average in last ten starts and will likely push game to under versus Florida Panthers
Sunday night is the ultimate opportunity for NHL fans, with a stacked slate of thrilling matchups that fans eagerly anticipate. The game that sticks out is a rematch of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals between the Florida Panthers and the Vegas Golden Knights. For bettors, this matchup provides a chance to capitalize on some of our recent strong trends, like our 19-8 record on our last 27 picks and our 7-2 record on our last nine player prop picks. All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
Florida Panthers vs Vegas Golden Knights Best Bets:
- Golden Knights ML (-125)
- Under 5.5 goals (-105)
- Panthers Under 2.5 goals (+115)
Since meeting in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Panthers have dominated this matchup with three straight wins and four goals in each game. They played at the beginning of this season and the Golden Knights couldn't win on the road as they were downed 4-3 but they will get home ice in this one. Up until recently, Vegas was the top team in the West but they've since started to experience hardships with a 2-6-1 record and a 3.33 goals against average in their last nine games.
Despite this recent rough patch, I expect a bounce back performance from the Golden Knights as they are entering this game fresh, having not played on Saturday and will be motivated to end their losing ways and beat a team they haven't been able to beat for some time. The Panthers played on Saturday and may be offensively fatigued after beating the last place San Jose Sharks in a 7-2 rout. Vegas is still dominant at home with a 18-6-1 record and a 2.44 goals against average this season that could stump Florida.
It's unclear who will start but it appears to be Ilya Samsonov getting the start for Vegas and has a decent history in this matchup with a 4-2-2 record and a .910 save percentage but a mediocre 3.04 goals against average in nine career apperances versus Florida. The Russian goaltender has been the best netminder for the Golden Knights as of late with a 7-3-0 record and a 2.22 goals against average in his last ten starts. He should play a pivotal role in slowing down the Panthers and giving his team a chance to win.
The Golden Knights will also need their offence to pick things up as they are averaging just 2.67 goals per game during their recent rough skid. They could potentially both struggle on offence in this one as it'll likely be a very physical game and continue the trend of low-scoring games in Vegas with the total going under six goals in ten of their last 13 home games.