Pittsburgh Penguins vs Florida Panthers: Game preview, predictions and odds | January 3, 2025

The Pittsburgh Penguins (17-17-5) are on the road to play the Florida Panthers (23-14-2) on Friday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. EST.

Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Florida, meanwhile, is coming off a 3-1 loss to Carolina on Thursday.

Penguins vs Panthers: Head-to-head & key stats

• Pittsburgh is 57-38-4-8 all-time against Florida
• The Penguins are averaging 3.05 goals per game
• Florida is 11-8-1 at home
• Pittsburgh is allowing 3.66 goals per game
• The Panthers are averaging 3.33 goals per game
• The Penguins are 6-10-3 on the road
• Florida is allowing 3.12 goals per game

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Florida Panthers: Preview

Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-2 loss to Detroit on New Year's Eve. The Penguins are led by Sidney Crosby who has 41 points, Evgeni Malkin has 31 points, Rickard Rakell has 31 points and Bryan Rust has 27 points.

The Penguins will start Tristan Jarry who's 8-6-2 with a 3.58 GAA and a .883 SV%. In his career against Florida, he's 4-4 with a 3.29 GAA and a .901 SV%.

Florida, meanwhile, is coming off a 3-1 loss to Carolina on Thursday and now plays the second half of a back-to-back. The Panthers will start Spencer Knight who's 6-6-1 with a 2.87 GAA and a .887 SV%. In his career against Pittsburgh, he's 0-0-1 with a 4.88 GAA and a .688 SV%.

Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with 45 points, Matthew Tkachuk has 35 points, Aleksander Barkov has 34 points, Sam Bennett has 27 points and Carter Verhaeghe has 27 points.

Penguins vs Panthers: Odds & Prediction

Pittsburgh is a +180 underdog, while Florida is a -210 favorite. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals.

The Penguins have started to play better, while the Panthers are coming in for a back-to-back. Knight has struggled at times this season, and Florida should have some tired legs here.

This is a good spot for Pittsburgh to get a big road win here as big underdogs. Jarry has started to play much better, as he will be able to outplay Knight to get a big win here.

Prediction: Penguins 3, Panthers 2.

Penguins vs Panthers: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Pittsburgh ML (+180)

Tip 2: Pittsburgh +1.5 (-142)

Tip 3: Under 6.5 goals (-122)

Tip 4: Carter Verhaeghe 3+ shots on goal (-140)