Florida will bring a three-game winning streak into Sunday’s Panthers vs. Lightning matchup at 5:00 p.m. ET. Will the Panthers cash as a road favorite or is there more value in the betting total?
Game Matchup & Betting Odds
Florida Panthers (-115) at Tampa Bay Lightning (-105); o/u 6.5
5:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, December 22, 2024
Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
TV: ESPN+
Panthers vs. Lightning Public Betting: Bettors Backing Pittsburgh
As of this writing, our NHL Public Betting Page shows that 59% of bets are on the Lightning moneyline. That said, this page is updated frequently so make sure that you click on the link provided to get the most up-to-date public betting information.
Tkachuk contributes helper on Friday
Matthew Tkachuk registered an assist and three shots on goal in Friday’s 2-1 overtime win over the Blues. Tkachuk has gotten back on track following a recent three-game slump. He has three goals and one assist over his last three outings. Overall, the star winger is up to 34 points (14 on the power play), 83 shots on net, 53 hits, 24 PIM and a minus-3 rating over 29 appearances this season.
Basilevskiy makes 31 saves in win over Blues
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in a 3-1 win over the Blues on Tuesday. Pavel Buchnevich was the only member of the Blues that lit the lamp. He converted a back door pass from Robert Thomas on an extended shift in the zone. Vasilevskiy has now won three straight games and is 15-9-1 on the season. But the pressure on him remains — the team doesn’t have a reliable back-up and at some point, that will come back to haunt them. Monitor Vasilevskiy’s workload carefully. If things don’t change, you may need a contingency to address exhaustion.
Panthers vs. Lightning Betting Prediction
Take Florida. The Panthers have owned the Lightning in previous meetings between the two teams. They’re 8-2 in their last 10 matchups with Tampa Bay, which includes taking five out of six playoff matchups last season. The Panthers also enter today’s game on a three-game winning streak and have won seven out of their last 10 games overall.
As for the Lightning, they’ve won four in a row but I can’t overlook how poorly the Bolts have played in previous meetings with the Panthers. Sometimes it’s just a bad matchup for a team. And this is a bad matchup for Tampa.
Panthers vs. Lightning Prediction: Florida Panthers -115