Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 02/05/2026

Game Time: 7:30 pm ET, Thursday, February 5, 2026

Venue:  Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN+, Hulu

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers +180, Lightning -225; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers +180, Lightning -225; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers +180, Lightning -218; Over/Under:  6 goals

Florida Panthers:  28-24-3 (8th place, Atlantic Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  36-14-4 (1st place, Atlantic Division)

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Florida Panthers:  4-6-0 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  8-1-1 last 10

The Panthers are entering this game with 59 points, a 28-24-3 record overall, and they are 14-11-0 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, losing that one at home 5-3, but this is also the 2nd game of a back-to-back for them with their game against the Boston Bruins still to be played on Wednesday night. In their game against the Sabres, Evan Rodrigues, Sandis Vilmanis, and Uvis Balinskis each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Sam Reinhart led the team in assists with 2 while Carter Verhaeghe led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 5 goals on 20 shots with 15 saves and a .750 save percentage. Their offense has scored 168 goals this season averaging 3.1 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 181 goals against them allowing 3.3 goals per game.

The Lightning are entering this game with 76 points, a 36-14-4 record overall, and they are 17-9-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Buffalo Sabres in their last game, winning that one at home 4-3 in overtime. Nikita Kucherov, Darren Raddysh, Jake Guentzel, and Oliver Bjorkstrand each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Nikita Kucherov led the team in assists with 3 while Nikita Kucherov led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 3 goals on 26 shots with 23 saves and a .885 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 193 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 139 goals against them allowing 2.6 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Lightning listed as a big favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Lightning have looked great in their games this season with their 36-14-4 record overall which has them right at the top of their division in the East with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have looked good on home ice too with their 17-9-0 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Panthers haven't looked good in their games this season with their 28-24-3 record overall which has them right at the bottom of their division in the East. They haven't been a bad road team though with their 14-11-0 road record this year. The Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions from the last 2 seasons, but they have taken a big step back this year. They have been dealing with injuries all season and the season has been a disaster for them. They haven't looked good lately either, going 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, and they are off a 5-3 home loss to the Sabres in their last one. They aren't in a great situation here either, playing this game on a back-to-back, and they don't have an easy game against the Bruins the night before. The Lightning are in a much better situation here as they are going to have rest on their side and they have been rolling in their games lately. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games and they have a ton of momentum on their side with 4 wins in a row now. The Panthers aren't going to have their best effort for this game after a tough game against the Bruins the night before, and they aren't going to be the ones to stop this red hot Lightning team. The best way to place a bet here is on the Lightning to win this game and on the puckline. 

Panthers Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, February 5, 2026 (7:30 pm ET start time) is Lightning 5 Panthers 2.

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Florida Panthers: 39-30 (-6.4 units) on the moneyline revenging a same season loss vs opponent. 35-29 (-5.1 units) on the moneyline against good starting goalies - saving 91.5% of shots against or more. 111-81 (-10.9 units) on the moneyline against excellent power play teams- scoring on over 17.5% of their chances. 17-9 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record.

Tampa Bay Lightning: 71-41 (+6.2 units) on the moneyline in home games. 41-25 (+13.6 units) on the moneyline when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51% to 60%). 81-40 (+18.6 units) on the moneyline against terrible defensive teams - allowing 3+ goals/game. 14-9 OVER when playing against a marginal winning team (Win Pct. 51% to 60%).

Florida Panthers:  S. Bennett (C) Day To Day - Upper Body. B. Marchand (C) Day To Day - Undisclosed. A. Lundell (C) Day To Day - Upper-body. S. Jones (D) Out - Upper Body. J. Gadjovich (LW) Out - Upper Body. D. Kulikov (D) Out - Upper Body. A. Barkov (C) Out - Knee. T. Nosek (LW) Out - Knee.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  A. Cirelli (C) Out - Undisclosed. N. Paul (LW) Out - Undisclosed. B. Point (C) Out - Lower Body. C. D'Astous (D) Out - Lower-body. E. Lilleberg (D) Out - Undisclosed.

“We gave up 20 shots and in the past six or seven games, we’ve only had one over 22. They are grinding, battling as hard as they can. With the number [of shots] we had, I have no complaint with what we did. You can always look at decisions we made with the puck, maybe we could have done something better with it. But for what we had … I have no complaint with how hard they are trying.” - Paul Maurice after his team’s loss against the Sabres in their game on Monday.

"That was probably an entertaining hockey game for most. You know the coaches will pick it apart, but that was two, what I consider, really good teams that went at it, and it's probably fitting that it went to overtime." - Jon Cooper after his team’s win against the Sabres in their game on Tuesday.

LW Eetu Luostarinen

C Anton Lundell

RW Sam Reinhart

LD Gustav Forsling

RD Aaron Ekblad

G Sergei Bobrovsky

LW Brandon Hagel

C Jake Guentzel

RW Nikita Kucherov

LD Janis Jérôme Moser

RD Darren Raddysh

G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: Sam Reinhart (54)

Goals: Sam Reinhart (27)

Assists: Sam Reinhart (27)

GAA: Daniil Tarasov (2.67)

Points: Nikita Kucherov (90)

Goals: Nikita Kucherov (29)

Assists: Nikita Kucherov (61)

GAA: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.14)

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (4th season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (14th season)