The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to continue their winning ways when they resume action after the NHL All-Star break. As for the Florida Panthers, getting two points Monday night will be a great sign for their chances to overcome their odds to make the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. With all that being said, let’s now take a look at our NHL odds series plus our Tampa Bay Lightning-Florida Panthers prediction for this showdown scheduled at 7:00 PM ET.
Here are the Tampa Bay Lightning-Florida Panthers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning -Florida Panthers Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning: -1.5 (+180)
Florida Panthers: +1.5 (-225)
Over: 6.5 (-134)
Under: 6.5 (+110)
How To Watch Tampa Bay Lightning -Florida Panthers
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 PM ET/4:00 PM PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Tampa Bay Lightning Could Cover The Spread
The Lightning entered the NHL All-Star break in terrific form, as they won three games in a row to close out their schedule in the first half of the 2022-23 season. Before the break, Tampa Bay blasted the Los Angeles Kings at home on Jan. 28 to the tune of a 5-2 score. So far in their current win streak, the Lightning have also victimized the Minnesota Wild (4-2) and the Boston Bruins (3-2). In other words, Tampa Bay has been lighting it up no matter who's the opponent. The Lightning are clicking on both ends of the ice over their last several games.
That is underscored by the team's solid numbers in its last 16 games, during which the Lightning posted a 12-4-0 record with a 51.3 CF% and 102.6 PDO. Sure, the Lightning are just a little over .500 in road games this season with a 12-11-0 record in games away from Amalie Arena, but they are 2-0 in two meetings so far with Florida; Tampa Bay beat the Panthers on Oct. 21 on the road, 3-2, via OT and then again on Dec. 10 at home, 4-1.
In addition, Tampa Bay has gone undefeated in its last four visits to the Panthers' home ice. Andrei Vasilevskiy starred between the pipes for the Lightning in both Tampa Bay games versus Florida this season. In the October meeting, Vasilevskiy stopped 36 of 38 shots on goal by the Panthers. The next time he saw the Panthers, Vasilevskiy was near-perfect again, turning away 25 of 24 shots on goal by Florida. In 26 career appearances against the Panthers, Vasilevskiy has a 15-9-1 record to go with a .916 saves percentage and 2.79 GA/A. Led by Brayden Point, the Lightning finished the first half of the season fourth in the league with 3.63 goals per contest.
Tampa Bay is also second with an 11.4 shooting percentage. Point leads the Bolts with 29 goals to go along with 25 assists, while Steven Stamkos is right behind with 24 goals. Rounding out the Lightning's lethal first line is Nikita Kucherov, who's got 19 goals and a team-leading 53 helpers.
Why The Florida Panthers Could Cover The Spread
Florida isn't in the same great shape as the Lightning, but at least the Panthers gave their morale a huge shot in the arm with a 4-3 victory via overtime at home over the Bruins before diving into the NHL All-Star break. That win over the powerful Bruins also snapped the Panthers' three-game skid. The long rest should help Florida, with a recent trend showing that the Panthers are in a much more dangerous form when their legs are fresher after multiple days of rest.
In fact, the Panthers have won nine of their last 11 games played after being away from the ice for no fewer than three days. Luck could be on the side a little of the Panthers in this upcoming meeting with Tampa Bay. The Lightning have posted an incredible 107.0 PDO in their last eight games and 107.8 over their last eight. While Tampa Bay is indeed a very good team, some regression can be expected of Point and company.
The Panthers just hope that it comes as soon as Monday night. Speaking of luck, that's one that the Panthers did not have a lot of in the December loss to Tampa Bay in which Florida posted advantages in CF%, HDCF%, and xGF% in even-strength situations. They have plenty of great chances but their shots just won't go into the net, in part because of Vasilevskiy. Nevertheless, it showed that Florida has the firepower to make Tampa Bay worried. The Panthers, after all, are seventh in the NHL with 3.4 goals per game and third in 5-on-5 HDF%.
Final Tampa Bay Lightning-Florida Panthers Prediction & Pick
The Lightning could really be due for a loss, considering their current win streak and their recent dominance of Florida. The Panthers still are having issues, but their win against Boston and the solid underlying numbers in their most recent showdown versus Tampa Bay give me enough confidence to take the Panthers to at least cover the puck line.
Final Tampa Bay Lightning-Florida Panthers Prediction & Pick: Florida Panthers +1.5 (-225)
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