Florida Panthers (22-11-2) vs Tampa Bay Lightning (18-11-2)
Game Info: Monday, December 23, 2024 at 7:00 pm (Amerant Bank Arena)
The Line: Betting Odds: Florida Panthers -128 / Tampa Bay Lightning +104 — Over/Under: 6.5
The Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Monday in NHL action from the Amerant Bank 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 sweep the home-and-home between the two sides after a 4-2 win in the opener on Sunday. After this game, Florida will take on Montreal.
Panthers Win 4th Straight
Entering Sunday’s matchup with the Lightning, 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 nine games.
- The Lightning have lost eight of their last nine games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The favorites have covered the puck line in eight of the Lightning’s last nine games.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last five games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be out to bounce back from the loss to the Panthers in Sunday’s clash. After this game, Tampa Bay will face off against the Rangers at home.
Lightning Looking For Home And Home Split
Going into Sunday’s game, 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 seven games following a home loss.
- The Panthers have lost three of their last four games as home favorites on the second leg of a back-to-back.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games following a home loss.
- The Panthers have failed to cover the puck line in seven of their last eight games as home favorites following a road win.
Panthers vs. Lightning Prediction
I’m on the Panthers here. I think the Lightning’s best chance for a win in these two games was on Sunday at home, and now we shift to Sunrise where the Panthers have been solid and the Lightning haven’t been as effective on the road this season. Florida also has an edge in goal, getting the win with Spencer Knight on Sunday, leaving the door open for Sergei Bobrovsky to start here while the Bolts will either go with Vasilevskiy or Johansson here. Either way, I will back the Panthers for the sweep here.