Posted at 1:15 PM EST odds are subject to change.

Pinnacle -½ +135 BET365 -½ +135 SportsInteraction -½ +126 888Sport -½ +125

Carolina -½ +135 over Florida

Regulation only. 7:05 PM EST. We’re going to target the Panthers here because they’re in such a difficult spot while at the same time, they’re playing one of the true elite teams in the NHL. Florida returns home from a four game trip to the West Coast through Arizona, San Jose, L.A. and Anaheim. They also played on the road in Philadelphia and Chicago before one home game before heading out on that aforementioned trip. Thus, Florida has played six of its last seven games on the road and therefore has had to travel to play in seven straight games, making this the eighth straight game in which they’ve had to travel to play its next opponent. We also like that the Panthers have an extended homestand beginning here with Connor McDavid and the Oilers on deck.

Furthermore, Florida has played Philadelphia, Chicago, Ottawa, Arizona, San Jose, L.A. and Anaheim over their last six and aside from the Kings, the rest of that group are weak in puck possession numbers. Florida’s strong analytics over the past couple of weeks is largely skewed because of the competition they have played. A team could pick up a lot of bad habits playing a string of lower tiered teams.

While the Panthers were playing dregs almost every night, the ‘Canes are coming off recent games against Toronto, Buffalo, Tampa, Washington, the Islanders and Calgary among others. Despite the difficult schedule, Carolina remains a possession monster. The team that possesses the puck and creates more opportunities and more high danger chances has a better chance of winning than losing. Carolina will almost certainly win that battle here, which makes them very playable in this spot.