Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/23/2024

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Venue:  Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN2

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Lightning +154, Panthers -185; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Lightning +150, Panthers -185; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Lightning +150, Panthers -185; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Tampa Bay Lightning:  45-29-8 (4th place, Atlantic Division)

Florida Panthers:  52-24-6 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Tampa Bay Lightning:  4-5-1 last 10

Florida Panthers:  7-2-1 last 10

The Lightning are entering this game with 98 points, a 45-29-8 record overall, and they were 20-18-3 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Florida Panthers in their last game, losing that one on the road 3-2. Steven Stamkos and Brandon Hagel each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Steven Stamkos, Anthony Cirelli, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point each led the team in assists with 1 while Brayden Point led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 27 shots with 25 saves and a .926 save percentage. Their offense has scored 291 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 268 goals against them allowing 3.3 goals per game.

The Panthers are entering this game with 110 points, a 52-24-6 record overall, and they were 26-13-2 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last game, winning that one at home 3-2. Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Aleksander Barkov led the team in assists with 2 while Sam Reinhart led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 19 shots with 17 saves and a .895 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 268 goals this season averaging 3.3 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 200 goals against them allowing 2.4 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Lightning listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7 game series between the 1st seeded Panthers from the Atlantic Division and the 1st seeded Wild Card, the Lightning, for Round 1 of the NHL Eastern Conference playoffs. The Panthers have a 1-0 series lead after winning game 1 of this series on home ice. The Panthers have looked great in their games this season with their 52-24-6 record overall which won them the Atlantic Division in the East and they have also looked great on home ice with their 26-13-2 home record. They managed to win game 1 of this series against the Lightning, but they also won in a very tight 3-2 game. Meanwhile, the Lightning haven't looked great in their road games this season with their 20-18-3 road record, but this series isn't really going to be much of a travel for them since they don't even have to leave their state. The Panthers may have gone to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, but the Lightning still have a lot more playoff experience on their side with the players that won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning when they were the dynasty in the NHL a few years ago. This isn't the same Lightning team anymore, but they still have a lot of talent from that team and they showed in game 1 that they are going to play tight in these games. The Lightning are good enough to rip a home game away from the Panthers here and they will keep it a close 1 goal hockey game again even if they do lose. The best way to place a bet here is on the Lightning to win this game or on the puckline to keep it close.

Lightning Panthers Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Tuesday, April 23, 2024 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Lightning 2 Panthers 1.

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Tampa Bay Lightning: 49-47 (-16.7 units) on the moneyline vs. division opponents. 19-25 (-11.3 units) on the moneyline revenging a close loss vs opponent of 1 goal or less. 5-2 UNDER after allowing 3 goals or more in 5 straight games. 17-10 UNDER after allowing 2 goals or more in the third period last game.

Florida Panthers: 62-33 (+25.8 units) on the moneyline vs. division opponents. 20-6 (+11.9 units) on the moneyline off a home win. 22-9 (+9.6 units) on the moneyline off a home win against a division rival. 19-6 UNDER after a 5 game unbeaten streak. 15-6 UNDER after scoring 3 goals or more in 4 straight games. 20-7 UNDER vs. division opponents.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  H. Fleury (D) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed. J. Johansson (G) Early May - Lower Body. M. Sergachev (D) Early May - Leg. B. Seabrook (D) out for season - Shoulder. L. Brown (C) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed.

Florida Panthers:  None.

“That was a pretty tight-checking game. And in the end, a power-play goal was the difference.” - Jon Cooper after his team’s loss against the Panthers in game 1 of this series on Sunday.

“We have history between these two teams. Last two times, it didn't work out well for us but we want to change it now. I think we have a great opportunity here and today was unreal. It's been a great atmosphere here all season, but man, we missed the playoffs. We missed this atmosphere.” - Aleksander Barkov after their win against the Lightning in game 1 of this series on Sunday.

LW Duclair, Anthony

C Point, Brayden

RW Kucherov, Nikita

LD Hedman, Victor

RD Raddysh, Darren

G Vasilevskiy, Andrei

LW Tarasenko, Vladimir

C Barkov, Aleksander

RW Reinhart, Sam

LD Forsling, Gustav

RD Ekblad, Aaron

G Bobrovsky, Sergei

Points: N. Kucherov (144)

Goals: B. Point (46)

Assists: N. Kucherov (100)

GAA: A. Vasilevskiy (2.90)

Points: S. Reinhart (94)

Goals: S. Reinhart (57)

Assists: M. Tkachuk (62)

GAA: A.Stolarz (2.03)

Coaches:

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (12th season)

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (2nd season)