Florida vs Pittsburgh Prediction 4 January 2025

🔊 What's happening with the champion? Florida is starting to fall into a full-fledged game crisis, as evidenced by three losses in the last four matches. It's time to show some character. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, has been alternating between successes and failures and is closely approaching the playoff eight in the East.

📊 Head-to-head

The opponents have already faced each other in the current regular season. At the very beginning of December, the "Penguins" barely managed to beat the champions on their home ice in Pennsylvania (5:4 OT). A decisive contribution to his team's success was made by Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin, who managed to score a goal and provide an assist. The Russian is currently in excellent form, having scored points in three of the last four matches.

🔴 Florida

Paul Maurice's team has hit a steep dive of negative results. In the last four matches, they only managed to defeat the struggling Rangers (5:3). Moreover, in the three lost games, they managed to score only one goal against Carolina (1:3). Such a state of affairs in attack is hard to call optimistic. The team has started to struggle with building attacks. The "Panthers" still hold a strong position in the playoff eight in the East, but the club needs to get out of this negative streak as soon as possible. The competition in the standings is incredibly tight.

⚫ Pittsburgh

The "Penguins" continue their fight for a spot under the sun. Mike Sullivan's team is desperately fighting to get into the playoff eight in the East but can't find stability to achieve their cherished goal. In the last six matches, the team strictly alternates successes with failures: three wins and three losses. However, even such a situation allowed the club to reduce the gap from the playoff zone to two points. Now the tournament situation is entirely in the hands of the players from Pennsylvania.

🔗 Probable lineups

Florida: Bobrovsky - Ekblad, Forsling - Reinhardt, Barkov, Rodrigues

Pittsburgh: Nedeljkovic - Grzelcyk, Karlsson - Rakell, Crosby, Rust

🥅 Goalkeepers

Florida's goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, despite the loss to the "Hurricanes," can count this match as a positive performance. The Russian managed to stop 37 out of 40 shots on goal and kept his team in the game until the last minutes. It's not his fault that his teammates scored only one goal.

Pittsburgh's goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic returned to action after an injury and played in two consecutive matches. However, his actions on the ice can't be called successful. For instance, in the game against Detroit, the American managed to stop only 87.5% of shots on goal.

📝 Editorial prediction

Both teams are not known for their scoring prowess. In hopes of breaking out of a series of negative results, the "Panthers" are becoming more defensive. This scenario suits the "Penguins," who rarely push events forward. Our key bet is total under 6.5 goals.