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The Florida Panthers and San Jose Sharks will meet in an NHL duel tonight. Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. EDT at SAP Center at San Jose in San Jose, Calif. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Panthers are favored at -147 on the moneyline, with the Sharks at +122 to pull off the upset. The over/under is set at 6.5 (-101o / -120u).
Let's get into our Panthers vs. Sharks predictions and NHL picks.
Panthers vs. Sharks Prediction
- Pick: Sharks Moneyline
Our Florida vs. San Jose best bet is on Sharks Moneyline, with the best odds currently available at FanDuel. For all of your NHL bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NHL odds page.
Panthers vs Sharks Odds
| Panthers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +164 | 6.5 -101o / -120u | -147 |
| Sharks Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -200 | 6.5 -101o / -120u | +122 |
- Panthers vs. Sharks puck line: Panthers -1.5 (+164), Sharks +1.5 (-200)
- Panthers vs. Sharks over/under: 6.5 (-101o / -120u)
- Panthers vs. Sharks moneyline: Panthers -147, Sharks +122
- Panthers vs. Sharks best bet: Sharks Moneyline
Panthers vs. Sharks Pick
Florida looked like Florida again in its first game of the season, winning 1-0 in Carolina when Gustav Forsling scored with 4.3 seconds left in overtime against the defending champs.
But it was a grind.
The two teams combined for 84 hits and 15 penalties, and the Panthers flew out right after the game to start a three-game California trip.
Now the Panthers face a 10 p.m. ET puck drop on the other side of the country against a fresh Sharks team that has been waiting all week for its home opener.
It's not yet clear who will start in net for Florida. Jacob Markstrom stopped all 15 shots he faced in the opener, but Akira Schmid could make his Panthers debut tonight. Yaroslav Askarov is expected to start for San Jose after entering the year as the No. 1 goalie.
He's coming off a tough season, but he showed flashes of the high-end talent the Sharks were betting on when San Jose traded for him in 2024, four years after Nashville took him 11th overall. He looked the part in camp, too, finishing the preseason with a .942 save percentage, including 27 saves on 29 shots against Vegas in the finale.
More than anything, this isn't the Sharks team the league was beating up on a couple of years ago. Macklin Celebrini put up 115 points last season as San Jose finished 39-35-8, a 34-point jump from the year before, and he should find himself in the Hart Trophy conversation again.
The young talent keeps coming, too. Ivar Stenberg, the No. 2 overall pick in this summer's draft, has been fast-tracked to the NHL and impressed in the preseason with three goals and five points in three games. Stenberg's defensive game should make an immediate impact as well.
The weak spot last season was keeping the puck out of the net, as San Jose allowed the third-most goals against in the league. The Sharks went to work on that this offseason, signing Jacob Trouba and trading for Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring. Trouba and Nurse take their share of criticism defensively, but they still give the blue line a much-needed lift over last year's group.
With the talent up front and what should be an improved defense, I'm buying the hype this season. At plus money at home, I like San Jose as another home ’dog to back tonight.
Best Bet: Sharks Moneyline (+122)
