Florida Panthers vs. Detroit Red Wings Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/17/2022

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI

Where to watch: ESPN

DraftKings: Panthers -370, Red Wings +285

BetMGM: Panthers -350, Red Wings +260

Caesars: NL

Panthers: 53-15-6

Red Wings: 29-36-10

The Florida Panthers will not rest until they have secured the top spot in the Eastern Conference. After that, what happens is anyone’s guess for a franchise that has been in desperate need of at least getting out of the first round in more than a decade.

And the Panthers will look to continue that type of pace Sunday when they visit the lowly Detroit Red Wings in what seems like another tune-up and easy victory for the Cats.

The Panthers are coming off a 6-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday for their ninth straight victory in a last-ditch effort to go after the Presidents Trophy over the Colorado Avalanche, who also refuse to lose any time soon.

Jonathan Huberdeau, who I don’t think we’re talking enough about for the Hart Trophy, extended his point streak to 13 games with two goals and an assist to pace another dominant effort for the high-powered Panthers. Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves for his franchise record 36th win of the season.

"I don't really look (at the standings)," Florida coach Andrew Brunette said. "I know we're in a good position. I just expect everybody's going to win. And we've got to keep winning and more importantly we were a little unhappy with our group there a little bit for some of those games, even though we came back, but I thought we tightened some things up here the last week or so. And I think that's a sign where we can try to keep building and get our complete both sides of the puck game to as high as we possibly can before the playoffs."

The Panthers are only going to go as far as the goaltending will take them. We know about Huberdeau, Sasha Barkov and the riches of depth that they have at both forward and defense. But Bobrovsky has shown at times to not be the Columbus version that won the Vezina Trophy once upon a time. If they get this version of Bob, the Panthers might win the whole thing.

But time will still tell on that. The Panthers are absolutely going to make a charge for a chance at the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since the mid-’90s and have the team that can really put the fear in the hearts of most opponents.

"We have a special team," Huberdeau said. "We're excited for what's coming up."

Detroit’s abysmal stretch to close the season continued with a 4-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday in Madison Square Garden. We’re not sure the Red Wings have enough time to reflect on things after Alexis Lafreniere put them on the highlight reel, but I digress.

Detroit lost for the third time in four games.

"I just didn't think we had a lot of jump today," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "They pinned us in our end for most of the game and that meant we were never able to get going."

Not hard to do when you have a young team that’s accepted its fate for the rest of the year.

Don’t overthink this one. The Panthers should be able to handle this group with ease. If the Panthers want to really get the Presidents Trophy and ensure the Stanley Cup Playoffs go through Sunrise, this game will be over by the 10-minute mark of the first period. Panthers win 5-0

Panthers are 16-4 this season off a home win by two goals or more.

Panthers are 25-6 this season off a home win.

Panthers are 9-3 this season off a win by four goals or more.

Red Wings are 5-13 this season when revenging a loss where the opponent scored four goals or more.

Red Wings are 7-15 against division opponents this season.

Panthers:

Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Anthony Duclair

Jonathan Huberdeau -- Sam Bennett -- Claude Giroux

Mason Marchment -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart

Maxim Mamin -- Eetu Luostarinen -- Patric Hornqvist

Ben Chiarot -- MacKenzie Weegar

Gustav Forsling -- Brandon Montour

Robert Hagg -- Radko Gudas

Sergei Bobrovsky

Red Wings:

Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Lucas Raymond

Filip Zadina -- Pius Suter -- Jakub Vrana

Adam Erne -- Michael Rasmussen -- Sam Gagner

Joe Veleno -- Chase Pearson -- Mitchell Stephens

Danny DeKeyser -- Moritz Seider

Marc Staal -- Filip Hronek

Gustav Lindstrom -- Jake Walman

Alex Nedeljkovic

Points: Jonathan Huberdeau -- 108

Goals: Sasha Barkov -- 34

Assists: Jonathan Huberdeau -- 78

Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky -- 36-6-3, 2.67 GAA, .912 SV%

Points: Dylan Larkin -- 69

Goals: Dylan Larkin -- 31

Assists: Moritz Seider -- 41

Goalie: Alex Nedeljkovic -- 19-21-9, 3.27 GAA, .903 SV%