The Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Thursday in NHL action from Amalie Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Lightning vs Panthers Prediction.
Series Recap
The Florida Panthers took home ice and started the series with a bang after opening the playoffs with a 6-2 win in Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Sam Bennett opened the scoring for Florida just 3:44 into the game but Jake Guentzel would tie the game at one at the 12:21 mark on the PP. Sam Reinhart restored Florida’s lead going into the second before Nate Schmidt and Matthew Tkachuk scored :14 apart to push the lead to 4-1 for the Panthers less than five minutes into the second.
Tkachuk added a second to make it 5-1 just before the midway point of the second before Brayden Point pulled one back for Tampa Bay with just under seven minutes to go in the second. That’s as close as Tampa Bay would get though, as Schmidt would add his second goal of the game just over five minutes into the third for the 6-2 score line that would hold up until the final horn.
Panthers Looking For Commanding 2-0 Lead Going Back Home
Sam Reinhart has a team-high 81 points including 39 goals and 42 assists while Sam Bennett has 51 points with 25 goals and 26 assists and Anton Lundell has 45 points of his own with 17 goals and 28 assists. Aleksander Barkov also has 71 points with 51 assists of his own while Carter Verhaeghe has 53 points with 20 goals and 33 assists and Matthew Tkachuk has 57 points with 22 goals and 35 assists. Sergei Bobrovsky is 33-19-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .906 save percentage in goal for Florida this season. Vitek Vanecek is also 2-4-1 with a 3.00 GAA and an .890 save percentage in goal for the Panthers this year.
Why the Florida Panthers will win
- The Panthers have won four of their last five games as underdogs against the Lightning.
- The Lightning have lost five of their last seven games as favorites against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Panthers have covered the puck line in 17 of their last 18 games as underdogs against Atlantic Division opponents.
Florida Panthers Player Prop Facts
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored the last goal in three of the Panthers’ last four playoff games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- Matthew Tkachuk has scored at least one goal in each of his last seven appearances.
- Matthew Tkachuk has recorded at least one point in each of his last seven appearances.
- Aaron Ekblad has recorded at least one assist in each of his last six appearances after playing less than 20 minutes in the Panthers’ last game.
- Aleksander Barkov ranks T1st in the league for shootout goals (4) this season.
Lightning Trying To Even Up Series
Nikita Kucherov leads the Bolts with 121 points including a team-high 37 goals and 84 assists while Brandon Hagel has 90 points with 35 goals and 55 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 59 points of his own with 27 goals and 32 assists. Brayden Point has 82 points with 42 goals and 40 assists while Victor Hedman has 66 points with 51 assists. Jake Guentzel also has 80 points with 41 goals and 39 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 38-20-5 with a 2.18 GAA and a .921 save percentage while Jonas Johansson has gone 9-6-3 with a 3.13 GAA and an .895 save percentage on the year in goal for Tampa Bay.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The Lightning have won each of their last 10 Thursday games at Amalie Arena.
- The Panthers have lost seven of their last eight games at Amalie Arena following a road win.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in nine of their last 11 games at Amalie Arena following a home loss.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Brayden Point has scored a goal in seven of his last eight appearances with the Lightning as home favorites against the Panthers.
- Victor Hedman has recorded at least one assist in each of the Lightning’s last seven home games against the Panthers.
- Jake Guentzel has recorded a point in each of his last eight appearances against the Panthers.
- Nikita Kucherov ranks 1st in the league for Points (121) this season.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Lightning’s last eight night games against Atlantic Division opponents at Amalie Arena have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Each of the Panthers’ last four games at Amalie Arena against opponents on a losing streak have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Four of the last five games between two teams from the Atlantic Division have gone OVER the total goals line.
Lightning vs Panthers Prediction
I’m on the Lightning in this one. I get the case to be made for Florida after how the Panthers looked in game one. However, that start was very un-Andrei Vasilevskiy-like, as he just never really got his footing. The thing is, one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t bet against Vasilevskiy after a loss as he’s usually the first one to hold himself accountable and help the team bounce back. I think that’s what he does here. Give me the Bolts at home here.