The Tampa Bay Lightning have not started their season off in the way they’d have liked, and are coming off of a horrible loss, in which they blew a 2-0 lead against the Philadelphia Flyers. They are going to be fired up about their previous game and take their anger out in the battle of Florida.
The Florida Panthers have been quite the opposite as they are off to a solid 3-1-0 start to the season and they actually beat the Flyers in their previous game.
Those games are in the past and the Panthers are now facing some injuries to their defense, which will be a huge advantage for this Lightning offense and the NHL’s leading scorer, Steven Stamkos. The Lightning are the underdog in this battle and in my mind they are the better team. Check out my NHL picks and predictions for the Lightning vs. Panthers to find out why.
Lightning vs Panthers best odds
Lightning vs Panthers picks and predictions
The Lightning might be 1-3-0 up to this point of the season, but that by no means makes them a bad team. They completely dominated the Flyers in their previous game, and they probably should have won but they took their foot off the gas with a 2-0 lead and allowed their opponent to get back in the game. They won’t let that happen two games in a row.
The Lightning are currently on a two-game losing streak, which is something that we are not very used to seeing. So, it is safe to say that Jon Cooper will have his team fired up and ready to go tonight.
Last season, the Lightning were the Panthers’ kryptonite. In the last meeting in South Florida, the Lighting ran the Panthers out of their own building, winning by the score of 8-4 and then we all know how that second-round playoff series went, as the Lightning swept the Panthers.
Despite Florida getting off to a strong start to this season, I am not convinced that they will be as good as last year. It’s also missing some key pieces in Aaron Ekblad and Anthony Duclair for quite some time, and Brandon Montour will also be questionable for this game.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is a much better goaltender than Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight, the Lightning will be desperate to get back in the win column tonight and I believe they will do so behind a strong performance from Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Vasilevsky in goal.
My best bet: Lightning moneyline (-105 at BetMGM)
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Lightning vs Panthers moneyline analysis
If you were to look at team stats right now, it would appear that the Panthers are the better hockey club, but that’s not the actual scenario with how these two teams match up. Florida doesn’t have nearly as much skill or depth as Tampa Bay.
Granted, it hasn’t been a good start for the Lightning, but if there is one team that they always get up to play for, it is their rival from the Sunshine State. The Bolts are coming into this game with the fourth best power play in the league, converting at 33.3%, while the Panthers man advantage unit is only converting at 11.1%. Special teams could be the difference in this game tonight, considering the fact that it made all the difference in last year’s playoff series as the Panthers had struggled to score a power play goal.
I will take Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning ten times out of ten in this matchup and I think they will be the more desperate team tonight. I love the Bolts here.
Lightning vs Panthers Over/Under analysis
This is a matchup between two teams that have a ton of offensive weapons, but the goaltending battle might outweigh the skill that each team brings on the ice.
As of now, the Lightning are currently sitting in 30th in the league as they are only scoring 2.50 goals per game. That is not the expectation or the standard for this team, but for whatever reason they are just struggling to find the back of the net.
The Panthers have been scoring goals at a good rate, as they are ranked 14th with 3.50 goals per contest, but they also haven’t seen a goalie as good as Vasilevskiy just yet. With their power play struggles, they might not see much offensive success tonight.
There is a very strong rivalry between these two teams which makes its way all the way down to the goalies, so I think they will both bring their A-game. I like the Under.
Lightning vs Panthers betting trend to know
The Lightning are 5-0 in the last five meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Lightning vs Panthers.
Lightning vs Panthers game info
| Location: | FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL |
| Date: | Friday, October 21, 2022 |
| Puck drop: | 7:30 p.m. ET |
| TV: | HULU |
