Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction NHL Picks 12/22/24

The Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Sunday in NHL action from the Amalie Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning prediction.

Florida Panthers Recap

The Florida Panthers come into this game looking to build on a 2-1 OT win over the St. Louis Blues last time out. After this game, Florida will have a rematch with the Lightning and will meet the Canadiens, Rangers, and Hurricanes.

Panthers Win Three Straight

Sam Reinhart has a team-high 43 points including 20 goals and 23 assists while Sam Bennett has 27 points with 13 goals and 14 assists and Anton Lundell has 22 points of his own with 8 goals and 14 assists. Aleksander Barkov also has 32 points with 22 assists of his own while Carter Verhaeghe has 27 points with 9 goals and 18 assists and Matthew Tkachuk has 34 points with 13 goals and 21 assists. Sergei Bobrovsky is 16-6-1 with a 2.79 GAA and a .896 save percentage while Spencer Knight is 5-5-1 with a 2.85 GAA and a .890 save percentage in goal for Florida this season.

Why the Florida Panthers will win

• The favorites have won each of the Lightning’s last eight games.
• The Lightning have lost seven of their last eight games against Atlantic Division opponents.
• The favorites have covered the puck line in seven of the Lightning’s last eight games.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last seven Sunday night games.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recap

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to add to their 3-1 win over St. Louis last time out. The Lightning will play against the Panthers, Rangers, Canadiens, Sharks, and Kings following this one.

Lightning Win Four In A Row

Nikita Kucherov leads the Bolts with 49 points including a team-high 14 goals and 35 assists while Brandon Hagel has 37 points with 15 goals and 22 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 28 points of his own with 15 assists. Brayden Point has 38 points with 21 goals and 17 assists while Victor Hedman has 25 points with 21 assists. Jake Guentzel also has 33 points with 18 goals and 15 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 15-9-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .913 save percentage while Jonas Johansson has gone 3-1-1 with a 3.84 GAA and an .882 save percentage on the year in goal for Tampa Bay.

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win

• The Lightning have won each of their last six games at Amalie Arena against opponents on a winning streak.
• The Panthers have lost each of their last three games as favorites following an overtime win.
• The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games.
• The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in seven of their last eight games after coming off overtime.

Panthers vs. Lightning Prediction

I’m on the Lightning here. Should be a great game, but I think this is Tampa’s game to draw first blood, as they’re at home where they’ve been at their best this season. Florida’s been solid on the road and they’ve had the upper hand in this matchup, but this is a playoff revenge game for Tampa Bay against their rival after Florida bounced the Bolts from the playoffs last year. Give me Tampa Bay in this one.