Sunshine State Showdown: Panthers vs Lightning Betting Preview
Cats 2-4 Last Six; Tampa 7 of 10
The Florida Panthers (19-12-2, 40 points) head to Tampa to take on the Lighting (17-13-5, 39 points) in a battle for the third spot in the Atlantic Division. If the Lightning win in regulation, they would not only pass Florida but also take over second place ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs if they lose to Ottawa.
The bad news is that Toronto and Florida have games in hand, giving tonight’s clash extra meaning to the Lightning. NHL Hockey betting lines have made the number -110 each way with a total of 6.5 (over -130). Puck drop is set for 7:05 ET and can be seen on Bally Sports Florida and the Sunshine Network.
Panthers Still Reveling After Vegas Win
The Panthers received the best gift right before the break: a win against the defending Stanley Cup Champion, the Vegas Golden Knights, or the team that ended Florida’s season in the final.
Like Vegas, the Lightning is another measuring stick game. A loss to Tampa would take some of the luster off their streak. In the big picture, if the Panthers are to make another Stanley Cup run, they’ll need to be better on the power play, where they own an 18.9% success rate, good for 20th in the NHL.
That’s a 10-spot drop off from last season when they finished 10th with a 22.8% success rate. Just four times this season, Florida managed to score more than two power-play goals in a game. We continue with our Panthers vs Lightning betting preview by turning our attention to Tampa Bay.
Despite Inconsistencies, Lightning Still In A Good Spot
Bettors have had trouble putting their finger on who the Tampa Bay Lightning are this NHL season, but that may come to an end if they can extend their current streak to four games.
All three wins have come as a favorite, but a home win against the Vegas Golden Knights (5-4) followed by a 2-1 shootout win at Washington tells you something about who Tampa Bay is because they could have easily dropped the Capitals game with it being the last game before the break after a massive victory.
More significant about that win is they proved they can play any style. In their previous four games with five goals or less, Tampa is 3-1 and 4-1 in games featuring six goals or more. The Lightning are back at Amalie Arena, where they’ll play three straight and seven of 10.
For a team that is 7-10-2 on the road, you could point to the next 10 games as a critical spot in the Tampa schedule against teams that future NHL odds should favor the Lightning in at least eight of those match-ups. We conclude our Panthers vs Lightning betting preview with our official selection.
We’re Riding With Bettors
We thought we could get a better number and we still might before gametime, but early betting patterns indicate that the money and tickets will be on the Florida Panthers, so get your money behind Florida now.
A quick check of the NHL injury report shows there are no significant concerns for the Lighting other than defenseman Mikhail Sergachev who is questionable with a lower-body injury, suffered a week ago against the St. Louis Blues after just 4:31 of TOI.
Sergachev averages just under 23 minutes of ice time, while the Lighting owns the puck 53.5% of the time when the eight-year veteran is on the ice. That is the only significant injury for betors to worry about.
We think that the Lightning is one of the must-bet NHL teams but that thinking would cost the public a significant amount of money with 14.00 units lost over the last two seasons including -3.17 units this season behind a 65-58 overall record that includes the postseason. The Panthers are 74-62 over the last two seasons (-2.95 units) but +5.78 units as an underdog, as we suspect they will be come game time.
Our official selection will be the Florida Panthers, but wait to see if betting patterns will lead us to a plus-money opportunity.
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