Panthers Favored to Knock the Lightning Out of the Playoffs

Florida Goes After Its Eighth Straight Home Game with a Chance to Close Out Tampa Bay

The star players delivered for the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 4 and now the Lightning hits the road looking to make it two in a row against the reigning Eastern Conference champion Panthers. The Lightning vs Panthers preview has Florida favored to wrap things up at home in Game 5.

The Panthers had won seven of the previous eight games against the Lightning, although three of those wins came by one goal. Tampa Bay had won seven games in a row before the Panthers turned things around.

The NHL betting lines have Florida priced at -180 to win Game 5 outright with +145 odds as the 1.5-goal favorite on the puck line. Tampa Bay has +160 odds to win.

Florida looks to join the New York Rangers are the first two teams in the NHL playoff bracket to advance to the second round.

Florida is currently at -2000 to win the series. The Stanley Cup odds have Florida second at +600, with the Lightning tied for 12th at +4000 in the championship odds.

Keep on reading for more on Game 5 between the Panthers and the Lightning as Florida looks to beat rival Tampa Bay in a playoff series for the first time.

More Stanley Cup Magic Left?

Tampa Bay relied on some of the veterans from past playoff runs to remain alive in the first-round series.

Steven Stamkos opened the scoring and then had a key insurance goal midway through the third period. Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman each had three assists while Brayden Point had a goal and two assists in a 6-3 win. That is something to keep in mind when it comes to the Lightning vs Panthers preview.

When analyzing the NHL stats, Stamkos has five goals in the first four goals as he joined Kucherov as the only player in franchise history with at least 50 career playoff goals. Point is fourth with 42 career goals.

Tampa Bay has lost five of its last seven games against Atlantic Division teams.

More Home Cooking For The Panthers?

In the first two games at home, Florida outshot 65-42 and controlled the play against the rival Lightning.
The Lightning did win the lone road game against the Panthers during the regular season.

In the two road games in the series, Florida had had just two power plays and scored once with the man advantage after going 2-for-7 on the power play in the two games at home. Keep that in mind when it comes to the Lightning vs Panthers preview.

Sam Reinhart had 11 power-play goals and 27 goals at home during the NHL regular season with Matthew Tkachuk having 10 goals and 28 assists.

Five of the last seven games when Florida played host to Tampa Bay went under the total.

Lightning vs Panthers Injury Update

The biggest NHL injury news came when Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Defensemen Haydn Fleury and Darren Raddysh could be available for Tampa Bay. Forward Logan Brown is out.

For Florida, forward Ryan Lomberg is questionable while forward Sam Bennett is out.

Lightning vs Panthers Betting Preview

After going 3-1 in last year’s playoffs when having a chance to close out a series, the Panthers failed to seal the deal on the road in Game 4. The last thing Florida wants is for the series to go back to Tampa for Game 6.

After seven penalties were called in the first 45 minutes of the game, things got a little nasty with five minor penalties over the last 4:13 including one as time expired. Will those hostilities carry over into Game 5?

Four of the last six games between the Panthers and the Lightning finished over the total after nine goals were scored in Game 4.

Florida is 48-21-2 as a hockey betting favorite with Tampa Bay 13-18-5 as the underdog.

The Panthers have won their last seven NHL games when listed as the home favorite and seven of the last eight times that Florida is favored at home seeing the game go under the total. Tampa Bay has lost nine of its last 14 games as a road underdog. The Lightning did cover in the last seven games as the road underdog.

The Panthers are just 14-29 against the spread at home while the Lightning is 22-21 ATS on the road.
Seven of Florida’s last 10 games went under the total with the total at 6.5 in this matchup.

Just 15 of Florida’s 43 home games went over the total with 17 of Tampa Bay’s 43 road games landing over the total.

The Lightning has lost four of its last five road games while Florida is going after its eighth straight home game. Look for Florida to take care of business on home ice yet again and move into the second round in its quest to reach a second consecutive Stanley Cup Final.

Lightning vs Panthers Odds

For NHL picks, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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