Florida Panthers are looking to make history with a third successive Stanley Cup win and they begin their quest for another NHL title with a home game against Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday night.
The teams had contrasting campaigns last year as the Panthers went 47-31-4 in the NHL regular season before going on to beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Blackhawks have had a much longer off-season after finishing last in the Western Conference Central Division with a 25-46-11 record.
Best Bet – Panthers -1.5 @ 10/11
Alternative Bet – Sam Reinhart anytime goalscorer @ 10/11
Bet Builder – Panthers -1.5, Over 6.5 goals, Sam Reinhart 2+ shots on goal, Carter Verhaeghe over 2.5 shots @ 13/2
Best Bet: Florida Panthers -1.5 @ 10/11
The Blackhawks will be looking to take advantage of the Panthers missing some of their biggest stars at the start of the season, but the gap in performance between the teams was so vast last season that the champions should avoid an opening-night upset.
The Panthers secured a comfortable 5-1 home win in the teams’ most recent meeting in February.
They begin this campaign without star duo Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, but their success over the season has been built on having top-quality depth on their roster and they can still put plenty of talented skaters on the ice.
The Panthers went 33-15-3 at home last season, while the Blackhawks had a poor road record of 10-25-5 including their heavy loss to the champions in Florida.
The home side should be buzzing after receiving their championship rings on Monday and can win by at least two goals on the night they hoist their latest title banner.
Alternative Bet: Sam Reinhart anytime goalscorer @ 10/11
The Panthers players who are on the ice against the Blackhawks will be keen to show they can continue to get the job done in the absence of Barkov and Tkachuk and last season’s top scorer Sam Reinhart can get his 2025-26 campaign up and running with a goal.
Reinhart scored 39 goals and provided 42 assists in his 79 regular-season games last season and he maintained that form throughout the playoffs, scoring four of his team’s five goals in the title-clinching Game 6 win over the Edmonton Oilers.
The centre also had a goal and two assists in the Panthers’ 5-1 win the last time the Blackhawks visited Amerant Bank Arena.
Florida Panthers -1.5
Over 6.5 goals
Sam Reinhart 2+ shots on goal
Carter Verhaeghe over 2.5 shots
Pays 13/2
To start a four-leg bet builder on the NHL season opener, take the Panthers -1.5 on the puck line and add Reinhart to have at least two shots on goal for the reasons outlined above.
A high-scoring game looks likely and nine of the Blackhawks’ last 10 season-openers have produced at least six goals, while the same is the case for six of the Panthers’ last 10 first outings of the season.
With the Panthers blasting seven goals past the Lightning in their final pre-season outing, taking over 6.5 goals boosts the odds nicely.
Finally, Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe can be expected to have at least three shots in the game after leading the team with 242 last year.
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The Panthers have won seven of the teams’ last 10 meetings
Six of the last 10 meetings between the teams have had seven or more goals
Five of the Blackhawks’ last seven games have gone over the expected total
The Blackhawks lost their last three pre-season games
Three of the Panthers’ last four pre-season games generated exactly seven goals
Sam Reinhart was Florida’s top points scorer last season with 39 goals and 42 assists
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Panthers centre Barkov suffered a serious knee injury in practice last month and will miss most of the season, while left wing Tkachuk will miss several weeks after adductor surgery.
Forward Tomas Nosek (knee) is another long-term absentee, but Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe should all be available after picking up knocks in a bruising pre-season series against Tampa Bay Lightning.
Blackhawks goaltender Laurent Brossoit is still out of action after hip surgery, as is defenceman Shea Weber (ankle).
Left wing Landon Slaggert and defenceman Alex Vlasic are expected to miss this game with lower-body injuries.
View the full market and more odds for Florida Panthers vs Chicago Blackhawks on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
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