Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers Game 1 Prediction, NHL Odds
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Nik Kowalski
The first ever Battle of Florida playoff series begins Sunday night and the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning are adding some serious firepower for Game 1. Both Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will be in the Lightning’s lineup Sunday evening at BB&T Center. Sunday will be Kucherov’s first game of the season after undergoing hip surgery in December. Stamkos played just one period during Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup run last year.
The Panthers (37-14-5) have not won a playoff series since 1996. Tampa Bay (36-17-3) has won 18 since them. Puck drop in Sunrise, Florida is 7:30 p.m. EST.
Lightning vs. Panthers Betting Analysis
The additions of Kucherov and Stamkos plus their overall playoff experience has made third-seeded Tampa Bay a -157 series favourite over second-seed Florida. The Lightning are also a slight road favourite in Game 1, coming in at -123 on the moneyline to win on the NHL odds.
In their eight head-to-heads this season, Florida went 5-2-1 and won the last three matchups. These teams met in their final two regular season games, with the Panthers winning 5-1 and 4-0. The physicality was noticeably ramped up as the teams combined for 174 penalty minutes.
Florida’s also entering Sunday on a six-game winning streak and 11-1 streak at home. The Lightning ended the season on a three-game losing streak.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay’s Game 1 roster will have a $98 million cap hat — which is fair game during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Along with Kucherov and Stamkos, the Lightning are also expected to get Ondrej Palat, Victor Hedman, and Ryan McDonagh back from injury.
Kucherov led all NHL players last post-season with 34 points in 25 games; Hedman led all defenceman with 22 points and earned a Conn Smythe Trophy in the process. Palat finished fourth on Tampa Bay with 18 points in the playoffs too — he and Kucherov are projected to be Brayden Point’s wingers for Game 1.
Then, behind all that talent is Andrei Vasilevskiy, who led all NHL goalies with the 31 wins and posted a .925 save percentage.
Florida Panthers
Their playoff experience is lacking, but Florida is for real. They finished fourth in the NHL with 3.36 goals per game and are led by the league’s most underrated duo: Johnathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. Huberdeau finished 12th in NHL scoring with a team high 61 points, while Barkov was right behind with 58 points and a team-high 26 goals (9th in the NHL).
Florida’s likely getting some key guys back from injury too, as Patric Hornqvist and Sam Bennett are listed as probable for Game 1. Hornqvist finished fifth on Florida with 32 points in 44 games, and Bennett’s put up 15 points in 10 games since being acquired from Calgary.
Sergei Bobrovsky will start Game 1 in net.
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