NHL Game Preview: Florida Panthers at Minnesota Wild with Line Combinations 12/18/2024

Florida Panthers (19-8-3, 41 pts) at Minnesota Wild (20-6-4, 44 pts)
Venue: Xcel Energy Center
Date: Wednesday, December 18
Time: 9:30 ET / 8:30 pm CT

TV: TNT / TruT / MAX / FDSN
Radio:
Florida Panthers – AM 560 Sports WQAM / 1230 WBZT / WCTH-FM 100.3
Minnesota Wild- KFAN 100.3 FM

DraftKings Sportsbook Betting Lines:
Florida Panthers -1.5 ML +185
Minnesota +1.5 ML -225
O/U 5.5

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Florida Panthers News & Notes

After being shutout in back-to-back games against the Canucks and Flames the Panthers bounced back in their Stanley Cup Finals rematch against the Oilers with a 6-5 victory. Florida is tied for first in the Atlantic Division and are 10-6-1 away from home. Florida has committed 135 penalties this season which is the second most in the NHL. The Panthers are 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

Minnesota Wild News & Notes

Minnesota has alternated wins and losses over their last five games, and is 8-5-1 at home this season. The Wild are second in the Central Division three points behind division leading Winnipeg. Minnesota is 7-3-0 in their last ten games and is 18-1-2 when scoring three or more goals. The Wild have a +18 goal differential this season.

Florida Panthers Projected Lines: 

Luostarinen-Lundell-Reinhart

Verhaeghe-Bennett-Tkachuk

Rodrigues-Boqvist-Samoskevich

Greer-Nosek-Gadjovich

Forsling-Ekblad

Mikkola-Kulikov

Balinskis-Schmidt

Bobrovsky

Knight

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Florida Hockey

Minnesota Wild Projected Lines:

Kaprizov-Rossi-Zuccarello

Johansson-Hartman-Boldy

Foligno-Gaudreau-Jones

Gaunce-Khusnutdinov-Shore

Brodin-Faber

Chisholm-Spurgeon

Merrill-Bogosian

Fleury

Wallstedt

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Players To Watch

Florida Panthers

San Reinhart had a goal and an assist in the Panthers victory over the Oilers in Edmonton on Monday night. The 29-year-old Vancouver, BC native leads the Florida in scoring with 41 points (20g, 21a) in 32 games played. The rugged center is on pace for a 105 point season which would eclipse his career high in points (94) he set a year ago.

Minnesota Wild

Karil Kaprizov has 47 points this season which is second in the NHL in scoring. The 5-foot-10 winger trails only Nathan MacKinnon who has 50 points. Kaprizov has two goals in back-to-back games and leads the Wild with 22 goals on the season. Kaprizov has seven goals in seven games in December and nine points this month.

Injury Report

Florida Panthers

F Aleksander Barkov – DTD

Minnesota Wild

G Filip Gustavsson – OUT
C Joel Eriksson Ek – IR
C Jakob Lauko – IR
D Jake Middleton – LTIR

Next game:

Florida Panthers – December 20 at St. Louis Blues
Minnesota Wild– December 20 vs. Utah Hockey Club

Season 4. Episode 13. This Is Not the Sway – Bruins Benders Podcast

The Bruins continue to get cooked by good teams. John Tortorella’s thoughts on Boston’s diving team, Matt Poitras 5 game goal streak. Time for call up? Jeremy Swayman is bad. Why?DraftKings Sportsbook – Boston’s hometown Sportsbook is LIVE right here in Massachusetts! Bet local on all your favorite sports from the comfort of your own home with DraftKings. To celebrate, ALL new customers will receive up to TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS bets when you sign up for DraftKings Sportsbook using code ITR! You can now bet local on money lines, spreads, props, and more with one of America’s top-rated Sportsbooks – DraftKings Sportsbook!  Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and sign up with code ITR to get up to TWO HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS bets to use now that mobile sports betting is live in Massachusetts. That’s code ITR only at DraftKings Sportsbook. If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, call 800 327-5050 or visit helplineMA.org to speak with a trained specialist, free and confidentially, twenty four seven. Must be 21+. Physically present in MA. Eligibility restrictions apply. Subject to regulatory licensing requirementsEligibility and deposit restrictions apply. Opt in required. Bonus issued as free bets. Terms at draftkings.com/MA.

1. Season 4. Episode 13. This Is Not the Sway 01:14:21
2. Season 4. Episode 12. Going Streaking! 55:26
3. Season 4. Episode 11. Have the Bruins Turned a Corner? 01:04:20
4. Season 4. Episode 10. Monty Out. Sacco In. 01:24:35
5. Season 4. Episode 9. Pasta Been Hurt 01:18:42