Edmonton Oilers @ Florida Panthers - June 18, 2024

As a former sports statistician, I can’t help but dive deep into the numbers to uncover trends and insights for this upcoming game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Looking at the offensive stats per game, it’s clear that both teams have strong offenses. The Oilers average 3.5 goals on 32.8 shots with an 11.1% shooting percentage, while the Panthers average 3.2 goals on 33.4 shots with a 10% shooting percentage.

When it comes to special teams, the Oilers have a more effective power play, converting at a rate of 26.3% compared to the Panthers’ 23.5%. On the defensive end, the Panthers have a slight edge with a higher save percentage of 91.3% compared to the Oilers’ 89.8%. However, when it comes to penalty kill percentage, the Oilers lag behind at 79.5%, while the Panthers boast an impressive 82.5%.

In terms of possession metrics, both teams have solid corsi percentages (a measure of shot attempt differential) in the low-to-mid-50s range, indicating strong puck possession skills. The offensive zone percentage is also fairly even between the two teams.

Taking all these stats into consideration, along with recent performance trends where Edmonton has covered ATS in only one of their last five games and Florida has struggled ATS in their recent outings but has been dominant in straight-up wins, I predict that this game will be closely contested.

Given Edmonton’s stronger power play and slightly better offensive numbers, I believe they have what it takes to come out on top in this matchup against Florida. While Florida may have a slight advantage defensively and on special teams like penalty kill efficiency, Edmonton’s firepower and power play prowess could give them an edge in what is likely to be a high-scoring game.

In conclusion, my prediction for this game is that the Edmonton Oilers will secure a victory over the Florida Panthers tonight while covering the spread as well. With both teams having potent offenses and some defensive vulnerabilities exposed by their respective statistics, I anticipate an exciting game with plenty of goals scored—making me lean towards taking the over on total goals set at 5.5 for this matchup at Amerant Bank Arena.