Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 04/29/2024

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Monday, April 29, 2024

Venue:  Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Lightning +145, Panthers -175; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Lightning +145, Panthers -175; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Lightning +145, Panthers -175; Over/Under:  6.5 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:  3-5-2 last 10

Florida Panthers:  8-1-1 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 win against the Florida Panthers in their last game, winning that one at home 6-3. Brandon Hagel and Steven Stamkos each led the team in goals scored with 2 while Brayden Point and Nicholas Paul each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov each led the team in assists with 3 while Steven Stamkos 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 25 shots with 22 saves and a .880 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 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their last game, losing that one on the road 6-3. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Sam Reinhart, and Carter Verhaeghe each scored 1 goal for them in that game. Matthew Tkachuk led the team in assists with 2 while Sam Reinhart led the team in shots on net in that game with 4. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 6 goals on 32 shots with 26 saves and a .812 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 Panthers listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. This is game 5 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 3-1 series lead after the Lightning won game 4 of this series on their home ice. The Lightning looked great in game 4 of this series with their 6-3 win over the Panthers, but it is too little too late for them in this series. A terrible performance in game 3 on their home ice put them into a 3-0 hole in this series and now they are in a terrible position here, still needing to win 2 road games to win this series. They did play their best in this series in those 2 road games even though they lost, but they have looked a lot worse in their road games all season with their 20-18-3 road record. The Lightning brought their best effort in game 4 to avoid getting swept on their home ice but they aren't going to do much in this road game as the Panthers will close out this series with a win on their home ice. The Panthers have looked great on home ice all season and they have been rolling in their games lately, now 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. The best way to place a bet here is on the Panthers to win this game. 

Lightning Panthers Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Monday, April 29, 2024 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Panthers 5 Lightning 1.

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Tampa Bay Lightning: 23-25 (-8 units) on the moneyline off a win against a division rival. 59-49 (-10.8 units) on the moneyline after a win by 2 goals or more. 23-17 UNDER in a road game where the total is 6 or more. 22-8 UNDER in the 5th game of a playoff series. 17-9 UNDER when facing elimination in a playoff series.

Florida Panthers: 59-33 (+14.7 units) on the moneyline after allowing 3 goals or more 2 straight games. 53-29 (+9.2 units) on the moneyline after playing 2 consecutive road games. 19-9 UNDER after 1 or more consecutive losses. 11-4 UNDER after scoring 3 goals or more in 5 straight games. 10-5 UNDER off a road loss. 

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

Florida Panthers:  R. Lomberg (LW) Ques Mon - Illness. S. Bennett (C) Early May - Upper Body.

“The normal introductions, all the players names there’s cheers. It gets to Vasilevskiy, there’s a massive cheer. I could not hear the PA guy say Vasilevskiy's name. The roar (for Sergachev) just kept going on and so all the guys on the bench got up. It was a stirring moment and I thought we carry that right into the first period.” - Jon Cooper after his team’s win against the Panthers in game 4 of this series on Saturday. 

“We were a little bit slow. And then we had a little problem with some special team stuff and that’s a recipe for a tough one. We need to stay out of the penalty box." - Paul Maurice after his team’s loss against the Lightning in game 4 of this series on Saturday.

LW Stamkos, Steven

C Point, Brayden

RW Kucherov, Nikita

LD Hedman, Victor

RD Dumba, Matt

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)