Tip: Minnesota Wild hosts an injured Florida Panthers at Xcel Energy Center!

The season is finally underway, and we have already been treated to plenty of drama. I assume I'm not the only one who has had their normal sleep cycle thrown off balance! But isn't it wonderful to have the world's best hockey league back? It's worth it! I have a couple of betting ideas I want to share ahead of tonight’s match between Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers.

Depleted defense in Panthers

It's no secret that the Florida Panthers are injured ahead of their away premiere against the Minnesota Wild. The team will be missing Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad in the opening match, significant losses both defensively and offensively. Ekblad contributed 14 goals and 24 assists during last year's regular season, and Montour with a whopping 16 goals and 57 (!) assists. Montour and Ekblad are the team's most crucial defensemen (along with Forsling), and we will see no fewer than five new defensemen for Florida in the premiere match against Wild: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, Mike Reilly, and Uvis Balinskis. Sure, there is experience, but at least a couple of them are past their prime. Thankfully, they still have Gustav Forsling, fit and without injuries, for it's no pleasant reading when one reviews the defense for last season’s Stanley Cup finalists.

Panthers will also have to make do without Sam Bennett in the premiere, as he will be out for a couple of weeks with a "lower-body injury." What probably will keep the Panthers from worrying too much in the coming weeks is the incredibly fine group of forwards they have. We still find Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe to name a few. They also get reinforcement this season from Evan Rodrigues, who last season was on the first line in Colorado Avalanche with MacKinnon and Rantanen, where he racked up 39 points in 69 matches. Even though there is plenty of quality in the forward group, significant pieces are missing, and the awaited away game won't be easy.

Minnesota Wild hopes for a better season start

Minnesota had a rocky start last season. Particularly, it was the defense that wobbled. However, they eventually got most things in order and could boast 103 earned points and a playoff spot. But in the playoffs, they fell to the Dallas Stars 4-2 in matches, no shame in that. Now, Wild is hoping to be more prepared to tackle this season's start, and considering it's pretty much the same crew, I think they have a good chance to start strong.

While there has been a lot of movement in the Panthers, Wild continues to work with a similar squad this season. Superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who scored over 40 goals in 67 matches last season, is still around and is central to Minnesota's offense. They have plenty of fine depth players, and the depth in the forward group is something I think is the team’s strength. Like the Panthers, they have a significant loss among the defensemen. Jared Spurgeon will be out for a couple of weeks, but otherwise, Wild is fit and fine.

It will also be interesting to see how Brock Faber and Marco Rossi will look this season. Two young talents that I think we will hear more about in the future. Faber, in particular, seems to be a real workhorse, and I spontaneously think he will fit well into the hard-working Minnesota. He won’t be an offensive cannon, but he was one of the USA’s best defensive college defensemen and was awarded for it in both 2022 and 2023. I immediately get some Mickey Anderson vibes - a good defensive back that many will likely overlook in haste.

Conclusion and prediction

Considering Florida's shattered defense and the absence of Sam Bennett, I believe the away team will face a challenging game. There are still fine offensive sharpshooters who will seriously test Wild, but at the same time, there's a messy defense and a lot of new blood in the squad. On the other hand, Wild stands firm with virtually the same team as last season, and I suspect they will be able to expose Florida's defensive issues substantially. Panthers are hardly known to be a defensive team, and the melody is often that offense is the best defense. I also believe this will be the case this season.

My two betting tips are:
Over 6.0 goals during regular time @ -118 at Unibet
Minnesota Wild to win the match during regular time @ +135 at bet365