May 17, 2022; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the third period against the Florida Panthers in game one of the second round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
- The Florida Panthers are -160 favorites over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their Stanley Cup Eastern Conference semifinal series on Thursday, May 19
- Tampa Bay is 3-1 straight up in four road playoff games played at Florida
- Below, see the Lightning vs Panthers Game 2 odds, best bets, and predictions
For years, now, the Florida Panthers have been playing little brother to the exploits of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Even though Florida was the first of the two NHL teams from the Sunshine State to reach the Stanley Cup final in 1996, it’s the Lightning who’ve won the Cup three times. That’s including the past two seasons.
One game into their Eastern Conference semifinal series, there’s no indication that the times are changing. Tampa Bay went into Florida for Game 1 on Tuesday and whipped the Panthers 4-1 Overall, the Bolts improved to 3-1 straight-up at Florida in Stanley Cup play.
However, oddsmakers are sticking with the home team for Game 2. It’s the Panthers who are set as -160 favorites to even this best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Lightning vs Panthers Odds
| Team | Puck Line | Total | Moneyline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | +1.5 (-175) | O 6.5 (-115) | +140 |
| Florida Panthers | -1.5 (+150) | U 6.5 (-105) | -160 |
Odds as of May 18th at Caesars Sportsbook.
The puck is set to drop at 7 pm ET inside FLA Live Arena. TNT will be providing broadcast of the action.
Tampa Bay vs Florida NHL Betting Trends
The NHL betting lines show the Panthers, at their current moneyline odds of -160, are assigned an implied probability of victory of 61.54%. That would mean a $10 wager on Florida would return a payout of $16.30.
In the NHL betting trends, the public is all-in on the Panthers in the moneyline and the Lightning in the spread. Tampa Bay is pulling 84% of the bets placed against the spread at +1.5. The moneyline splits show 75% of the bets are on the Panthers at -160 odds. The public isn’t expecting lots of goals, though. There’s 75% of the public bets on the Under (6.5). Three of five Lightning vs Panthers games this season have gone under.
The @TBLightning went 3-for-6 on the power play. Problem No. 1 for FLA: Giving Lightning six power plays. Problem No. 2: Allowing three goals to a PP *without* Brayden Point!
Meanwhile, the Panthers go 0-for-3, are now 0-for-21, and are still trying to figure themselves out.
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) May 18, 2022
Special teams were a big difference in Game 1. Tampa Bay went 3-for-6 on the power play. Florida, meanwhile, was 0-for-3 with the man advantage. The Panthers are 0-for-21 in the postseason on the power play. That must change if the Panthers have an extended playoff run in mind.
Lightning vs Panthers Recent Results
| Date | Home-Away | Moneyline | Puck Line | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/19/2021 | Tampa Bay 1 Florida 4 | FLA | FLA | Under |
| 11/13/2021 | Tampa Bay 3 Florida 2 (OT) | TB | FLA | Under |
| 12/30/2021 | Florida 9 Tampa Bay 3 | FLA | FLA | Over |
| 4/24/2022 | Florida 4 Tampa Bay 8 | TB | TB | Over |
| 5/17/2022 | Florida 1 Tampa Bay 4 | TB | TB | Under |
At +360, Florida is the #2 pick in the Stanley Cup odds. Two-time defending champion Tampa Bay is the fourth choice in this betting market at +650.
Over the last 3 playoffs, Victor Hedman ranks:
• 2nd in PPP
• 3rd in blocks
• 4th in points
• 4th in shots
• 4th in TOI
• 11th in goalsHe’s a DEFENSEMAN
— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) May 15, 2022
Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman, a finalist in the Norris Trophy odds, is averaging a point per game in the playoffs with 2-6-8 totals in eight games. Hedman is third (21-69-90) is Stanley Cup scoring since 2014. Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov (47-90-137) is the leader over that span.
Tampa Bay vs Florida Injury Report
Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point (lower-body) and defenseman Eric Cernak (hand) are both listed as questionable for Game 2. Defenseman Brent Seabrook (shoulder) is out.
Since 2016-2017, Brayden Point has 38 playoff goals. The most in the NHL 🙌 #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/J8aX4NNHia
— Channelside Sports Network (@chsidesports) May 13, 2022
For Florida, forward Mason Marchment (lower-body) is questionable. Defenseman Markus Nutivaara (lower-body) is out.
Panthers Need Traffic In Front of Vasilevskiy in Game 2
Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy admitted that in the first round Toronto was making it difficult for him to see the puck by taking away his eyes with traffic at the net front. Florida will need to follow this blueprint, because if Vasilevskiy is seeing the puck, he’s stopping the puck.
Panthers Carter Verhaeghe on #Bolts Vasilevskiy: “He’s one of the big reasons they’ve had so much success in the past and this year. He’s probably the best goalie in the world.”#TBLvsFLA
— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) May 18, 2022
Since making his postseason debut in the 2015 playoffs, Vasilevskiy leads all NHL goalies with 54 wins.
Blues vs Avalanche Projected Starting Goalies
| Team | Goalie | Record | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lightning | Andrei Vasilevskiy | 5-3 | .907 | 2.79 |
| Panthers | Sergei Bobrovsky | 4-3 | .903 | 2.98 |
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovskiy has lost consecutive decisions just twice since Dec. 29. He’s 3-4 in the playoffs at home as a Panther.
Sergei Bobrovsky in Game 1s as a member of the Panthers
Record 0-4
GAA 3.57
Save Percentage .900— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) May 18, 2022
Bobrovsky is 5-3 lifetime against Tampa Bay in the playoffs. But he’s 0-2 when facing the Bolts in Florida during postseason play.
Lightning vs Panthers Game 2 Prediction
This is the season for the Panthers. They can’t afford to go to Tampa Bay down 2-0 in this set. But the Lightning have won three of the last four from the Panthers and two of the last three played at Florida.
Of note is the fact that in seven of the last eight games between these two teams, the winner has also covered the puckline.
Pick: Florida Panthers ML (-160)
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.