Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning odds, picks and predictions
The Florida Panthers (19-12-2) and Tampa Bay Lightning (17-13-5) clash in the Sunshine State Wednesday night. The opening faceoff at Amalie Arena in Tampa is slated for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's lines around the Panthers vs. Lightning odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Panthers come out of the NHL's Christmas break tied for 2nd-place in the Atlantic Division. But they are looking for a bounce after what was a subpar couple of weeks heading into that break. Florida, which ranks 4th in the league in defense (2.61 goals per game), was outscored 18-11 in going 2-4-0 from Dec. 12-23.
Tampa Bay is a point behind Florida and the Toronto Maple Leafs and in 4th in the Atlantic. After beating the Panthers in 7 straight from April 24-Dec. 10, 2022, the Lighting are looking to turn the tide of a 2-game series losing streak. They went into the break on a 3-game winning streak.
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Panthers at Lightning odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 11:01 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Panthers -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Lightning -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Panthers +1.5 (-250) | Lightning -1.5 (+200)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -130 | U: +105)
Panthers at Lightning projected goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky (15-9-1, 2.50 GAA, .910 SV%) vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy (8-5-0, 2.76 GAA, .908 SV%)
Bobrovsky stopped 23 of 25 shots in his last start (Saturday vs. Vegas Golden Knights) and owns a .931 SV% across his last 3 games. Longer rest intervals have not agreed with the veteran netminder of late. Over his last 4 starts with 3-plus days of rest, he owns a subpar .879 SV%.
Vasilevskiy also played Saturday, making 33 saves on 34 shots by the Washington Capitals. Two of his better starts this season have come across his last 3 turns.
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Panthers at Lightning picks and predictions
Prediction
Tampa Bay 5, Florida 4
Moneyline
No quibbles with a near-pick'em here. PASS.
Puck line/Against the spread
Same as above with extra juice in the mix. PASS.
Over/Under
Florida has cranked out 37.8 shots per game over its last 5 and 35.7 over its last 10. The Panthers powerplay is 4-for-its-last-15.
Tampa Bay has filed 11 goals over its last 2 home games. The Lightning powerplay (30.4%) ranks 2nd in the league.
Both clubs have some expected-versus-actual goals numbers that favor higher scores moving forward. The Bolts are opening a 3-game home stand with this contest. They have found much twine in opening multi-game home stretches this season: in game 1, they've averaged 4.60 goals per game.
The lesser offense in this one (Florida) has scored 8G over 2 previous outings on 3-day rest.
The OVER 6.5 (-130) is worth a partial-unit play (full unit at -125 or better).
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