Florida was in the hunt for the top seed in the Eastern Conference until the final week of the season. However, as the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, Florida has injury worries with two of its best players. Of great Stanley Cup betting odds concern is that D Aaron Ekblad and C Carter Verhaeghe just returned. Last year, the Panthers made the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history. Their biggest moment in taking the 2023 Eastern Conference championship was the first-round upset of the Boston Bruins. Boston had the best regular season in NHL history.
2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round Matchup Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
| Date and Time: | Tuesday, April 23, 2024, 7:30 PM ET. |
|---|---|
| Location: | Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL. |
| TV Coverage: | ESPN2 |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | +1½ -170 | 5½ -120 | +155 |  |
| Panthers | -1½ +150 | 5½ EV | -175 | |
| ||||
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers Series Schedule, All Times Eastern
- Game 1: Panthers 3, Lightning 2
- Game 2: April 23, Lightning at Panthers, 7:30, ESPN2
- Game 3: April 25, Panthers at Lightning, 7 TBS
- Game 4: April 27, Panthers at Lightning, 5, TBS
- x-Game 5: April 29, Lightning at Panthers, TBD
- x-Game 6: May 1, Panthers at Lightning, TBD
- x-Game 7: May 4, Lightning at Panthers, TBD
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Overview
This season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are 45-29-8 straight up and 39-38-5 over/under the sportsbook total. Also, Tampa Bay is 6th in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Tampa Bay is 16 points behind the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Late on, Tampa Bay has covered two out of their last six games. While the Lightning has gone under the total in one of its previous seven matchups.
Tampa Bay has NHL rankings of 5th for goals scored and 1st for power play efficiency. In comparison on defense, the Lightning have NHL rankings of 22nd for goals against and 5th for penalty killing.
RW Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 44 goals, 100 assists, 44 points and a +8. G Andrei Vasilevskiy has a 2.90 goals against average, a .900 save percentage, a record of 30-20-4, and two shutouts.
Indeed, the Tampa Bay Lightning may not be quite at their former Stanley Cup level. Still, a strong second half put Tampa Bay into the playoffs. Tampa Bay still has a strong core and, at least by reputation, one of the top goaltenders in the NHL (Andre Vasilevskiy). The Lightning are one of the top offensive teams in the NHL, but Vasilevskiy was not at his Stanley Cup level.
Florida Panthers Team Overview
This season, the Florida Panthers are 52-24-6 straight up and 30-49 over/under the NHL Playoff betting odds total. Also, Florida is 3rd in the Eastern Conference playoff standings. Florida is four points behind the New York Ranger in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Late on, Florida has covered five out of their last six games. At the same time, the Panthers have gone over the total in one of its previous six matchups.
Florida has NHL rankings of 12th for goals scored and 8th for power play efficiency. In comparison, on defense, the Panthers have NHL rankings of 1st for goals against and 6th for penalty killing.
C Sam Reinhart has 57 goals, 37 assists, 94 points, and a +29. G Sergei Bobrovsky has a 2.37 goals against average, a .915 save percentage, a record of 36-17-4, and six shutouts.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers SBG Free Picks
On this occasion, Tampa Bay offers good value as a quality underdog.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers SBG Best Bet: Tampa Bay Lightning.