The Battle of Florida is back underway as game three will be in Tampa Bay tonight as the Lightning host the Florida Panthers. Earlier in the series, we saw why the Lightning are back-to-back champions as they won the first two meetings on the road before returning home to a friendly crowd. It's going to be tough for the Panthers to stay in this series if they don't get a win here tonight. With that said, it’s time to continue our NHL odds series with a Panthers-Lightning prediction and pick.
Here are the Panthers-Lightning NHL Odds, Courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Panthers-Lightning Odds
Florida Panthers: +1.5 (-260) (-111 ML)
Tampa Bay Lightning: -1.5 (+210) (-108 ML)
Over: 6.5 (-105)
Under: 6.5 (-115)
Why The Panthers Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Florida Panthers are off to a rough start in this series after losing the first two games on their own home ice. Now they have to play from behind and on the road for the next two games. Their offense has struggled through the first two games of this series after scoring 20 goals through six games in the first round. The big story for the Cats is their powerplay, as it has been abysmal so far in the playoffs, failing to score on 22 different opportunities.
Their defense has kept games close so far, keeping the Lightning on their toes in their own end. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky has been pretty good in the playoffs so far with a .906 save percentage, but unless he can get offensive help in front of him, the Panthers will be looking at an early exit very soon.
Why The Lightning Can Cover The Spread/Win
The Tampa Bay Lightning have been on fire and took a two-game lead, winning both of them on the road. Now they return home for games three and four, which can easily be turned into a sweep in the Panthers aren't careful. They've only scored six goals throughout the first two games of this series, but their offense looks good, keeping the pressure on and not allowing the Panthers to have much puck control. The Bolts' defense has been even better, allowing only two goals in the second round so far.
They'll look to continue to shut down the Panthers' offense as superstar netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy has been great once again, showing a .915 save percentage in the playoffs as a whole and a .971 save percentage in the second round alone. Of course, he'll look to stay hot tonight as the Bolts would love to take a 3-0 lead in this series tonight.
Final Panthers-Lightning Prediction & Pick
As of right now, the odds on this game are in a stalemate, creating a pick 'em situation, which is never good for betting. With that said, I love the Lightning here, and how could you not? They won the first two games on the road and are red hot right now as they head back to a home crowd for the next two games. I had the Lightning winning this series in six games, but I wouldn't be surprised at all if they pulled it off the sweep in just four games.
Final Panthers-Lightning Prediction and Pick: Lightning Moneyline (-110)