Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/24/2025

Game Time: 6:30 pm ET, Thursday, April 24, 2025

Venue:  Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL 

Where to Watch:  TBS, MAX, truTV

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Panthers +105, Lightning -125; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Panthers +105, Lightning -125; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Panthers +100, Lightning -120; Over/Under:  5.5 goals

Florida Panthers:  47-31-4 (3rd place, Atlantic Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  47-27-8 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Amedeus Mastrangelo is on a HOT STREAK in the NHL on a 7-2 NHL RUN for +$5,350 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Florida Panthers:  4-5-1 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  4-3-3 last 10

The Panthers are entering the playoffs with 98 points, a 47-31-4 record overall, and they were 20-19-2 in their road games this 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 on the road 6-2. Matthew Tkachuk and Nate Schmidt each led the team in goals scored with 2 while Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Aleksander Barkov led the team in assists with 2 while Matthew Tkachuk and Nate Schmidt each led the team in shots on net in that game with 3. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 22 shots with 20 saves and a .909 save percentage. Their offense has scored 252 goals this season averaging 3.1 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 223 goals against them allowing 2.7 goals per game.

The Lightning are entering the playoffs with 102 points, a 47-27-8 record overall, and they were 29-8-4 in their home games this 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 at home 6-2. Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Gage Goncalves, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, and Ryan McDonagh each led the team in assists with 1 while Jake Guentzel led the team in shots on net in that game with 6. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 6 goals on 16 shots with 10 saves and a .625 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 294 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 219 goals against them allowing 2.7 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Lightning listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 2 of a 7 game series between the 2nd seeded Lightning and the 3rd seeded Panthers from the Atlantic Division for the 1st round of the NHL playoffs. The Panthers are leading this series 1-0 after winning game 1 on the road. The Panthers took a 1-0 series lead with a 6-2 win over the Lightning on the road and they were all over the Lightning right from the start. The Panthers didn't look good over the last few weeks as they were coming into the playoffs in a bit of a slump, but they brought their best effort to flip the home advantage in the 1st game and they showed why they are the defending Stanley Cup champions. As good as they looked in that 1st game, they still had a losing road record this year as they weren't at their best in those games, and the Lightning are going to have a response after such a bad loss on home ice. The Lightning have looked great on home ice this season with their 29-8-4 home record so they are going to be looking to bounce back with a better game and they definitely didn't get the best performance from their goaltender either. The Panthers are a really good team and looked a lot better in game 1, but the Lightning are also very good and these two know each other very well so the Lightning won't let that loss go easily. Look for the Lightning to respond with a better game here and they are going to throw everything they have at the Panthers as they do not want to go on the road against the defending champions down 2-0 in the series. The best way to place a bet here is on the Lightning to win this game. 

Panthers Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Thursday, April 24, 2025 (6:30 pm ET start time) is Lightning 4 Panthers 3.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Florida Panthers Tampa Bay Lightning prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NHL predictions and previews.

Florida Panthers: 28-29 (+9.2 units) on the moneyline as an underdog. 9-4 (+7.9 units) on the moneyline in the first round of the playoffs. 111-82 (+12.3 units) on the moneyline against good passing teams - averaging 5 or more assists per game. 9-3 OVER in the first round of the playoffs. 

Tampa Bay Lightning: 140-117 (-18.1 units) on the moneyline in all games. 25-24 (-10.9 units) on the moneyline off a loss against a division rival. 9-12 (-8.8 units) on the moneyline after a blowout loss by 4 goals or more in their previous game. 8-4 OVER in the first round of the playoffs.

Florida Panthers:  None.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  A. Cirelli (C) Day To Day - Undisclosed. O. Bjorkstrand (RW) Out - Lower Body. 

"The main thing was being back and just being back with the guys and being able to compete with them and just being around them again. It's been a long two months, and some good days, some bad days, just so many highs and lows. So just, I've just got a ton of people to thank for getting me to this point." - Matthew Tkachuk after their win against the Lightning in game 1 of this series on Tuesday.

"A series isn't won in one game, that's a positive. In the end we gave up six goals. We're a pretty decent defensive team and we're good on the PK, and we gave up three on that. We can sit here and dissect this game all we want, bottom line is we lost. We'll turn the page and move on." - Jon Cooper after his team’s loss against the Panthers in game 1 of this series on Tuesday.

LW Carter Verhaeghe

C Aleksander Barkov

RW Sam Reinhart

LD Gustav Forsling

RD Seth Jones

G Sergei Bobrovsky

LW Yanni Gourde

C Brayden Point

RW Nikita Kucherov

LD Victor Hedman

RD Janis Jérôme Moser

G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: S. Reinhart (81)

Goals: S. Reinhart (39)

Assists: A. Barkov (51)

GAA: S. Bobrovsky (2.44)

Points: N. Kucherov (121)

Goals: B. Point (42)

Assists: N. Kucherov (84)

GAA: A. Vasilevskiy (2.18)

Coaches:

Florida Panthers: Paul Maurice (3rd season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (13th season)