Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers Picks and Predition, Thursday October 23, 2025
The 2025/26 NHL season has been full of fantastic matchups so far, and on Thursday, we'll see two red-hot teams do battle in our Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers prediction.
The Pittsburgh Penguins (5-2-0) were expected to struggle in 2025/26, but with some intriguing names having hot starts to the year, this is a team that's been dominant, something that they hope can continue throughout the year.
On Thursday, they take on the Florida Panthers (4-4-0), the defending Stanley Cup Champions that have been up-and-down to start the year, and with high hopes for a three-peat, they'll look to find some momentum in the regular season. Read on to see our Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers prediction.
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Can the Penguins continue their hot start?
Despite having some veteran stars, the Pittsburgh Penguins were expected to struggle in 2025/26, but with a 3-1-0 record to start the new season, they've been surprisingly much more competitive than anyone could have expected. For the Penguins, it's been all about an offense that's scored 3.29 goals per game, and with the team allowing just 2.29 of their own, this is a team that has found a sustainable route to success this season.
For Pittsburgh, it's been the line of Evgeni Malkin (10 points) and Justin Brazeau (8 points) to lead them to success, and with Sidney Crosby putting up eight of his own, this team could have some success in 2025/26 despite pre-season rankings. Last time out for the Penguins was a dominant win over the Canucks, with three points to Brazeau leading the way as Artus Silovs stopped all but one of the 25 shots he saw as they came away winners 5-1.
Expected goaltender: Tristan Jarry (2.35 GAA and a .922 save percentage in three games).
Can the Panthers find their consistency?
The Florida Panthers entire focus this season is on their third straight Stanley Cup, but after three straight victories to start the season, they've dropped three of their last four as they look to find some consistency. In net, the Panthers have been rock-solid again in 2025/26, posting a 2.88 GAA through eight games, but with an offense that's scored just 2.38 goals a game, they need to find their chemistry without Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
In their absence, it's been the duo of Brad Marchand (8 points) and Anton Lundell (6 points) to lead the way, but with the team needing their stars to step up, they'll hope to improve more as the season rolls on. Last time out for the Panthers was a big road win over the Boston Bruins, with two assists to Marchand leading the way in his return to Boston as Sergei Bobrovsky made an impressive 28 saves as they came away winners 4-3.
Expected goaltender: Sergei Bobrovsky (2.19 GAA and a .914 save percentage in six games).
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers picks
Moneyline pick for Penguins vs. Panthers
- Pittsburgh +155 (4 units)
While the Panthers are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, they've been underwhelming as of late, but after going 2-1 against the Penguins a season ago, they come into this one as a major favorite.
However, Pittsburgh has gone 3-1-0 to start the 2025/26 campaign away from home, and with surprising momentum behind them, expect the Penguins to come away with an upset on the road in this one.
Over/under pick for Penguins vs. Panthers
- Over 6 (4 units)
The goaltending of both these teams has been impressive in 2025/26, but they've both been scoring plenty as well, with the over being 2-1 in their two head-to-head encounters a season ago.
For the Penguins, the over sits at 4-3 in seven games this season, with three or more goals scored in six of those seven, and for the Panthers, the over comes in at 4-4 in eight games played, with 11 goals scored in three games played at home.
Keep it simple, take the over.