Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction 12/27/2023 @ 7:00PM
Republished from SportsJaw.com
Florida Panthers Stumble in Road Games, Tampa Bay Lightning Ride Hot Streak to Divisional Showdown
The Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning will face off in a divisional showdown on Wednesday evening. Both teams enter in winning form, with the Panthers earning a home win against the Golden Knights and the Lightning posting a road win against the Capitals in their previous action. This rivalry saw each squad earn two wins in the four meetings played over the last year. Tampa Bay is the current betting favorite with a line of -117.
Betting Odds
- Moneyline: Panthers +101 | Lightning -117
- Spread: Panthers +1.5 (-225) | Lightning -1.5 (+185)
- Total: Over/Under 6.5 (-110)
- Based on the moneyline, the implied probability that Tampa Bay will win straight-up is 54%.
Florida vs Tampa Bay Stats
Florida Panthers
Sergei Bobrovsky takes most of the play time in net, with a 2.50 GAA and a .910 save %, while Anthony Stolarz has a 2.18 GAA and a .915 save%. Sam Reinhart has cooled off recently but is having the best season of his career, with 40 points in 33 games. Aleksander Barkov has 10 points in the last month and has 32 points this season. Evan Rodrigues is on a slump with only 1 point in the last 8 games, but still has a solid 21 points for the season. The Panthers are looking to make up their five losses in the last 10 bouts and currently trail by just 4 points for first place in their division.
3–2 Cats!!! pic.twitter.com/qorZ7mtoQN
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 23, 2023
Tampa Bay Lightning Analysis
Nikita Kucherov is leading the league with 57 points and Viktor Hedman is averaging 23 minutes of ice time with 33 points. Andrei Vasilevsky is 8–5 with a 2.76 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are seeking a fourth win in a row, and have a 7–3 record in their last ten games. Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL with 57 points and Viktor Hedman averages 23 minutes of ice time with 33 points. Andrei Vasilevsky is 8–5 with a 2.76 GAA and a .908 save percentage. The Lightning have a power ranking of 5, and are #10 for offense (3.41 goals per game) and #27 for defense (3.50 goals against per game). Tampa Bay has a 17–13–5 record in total, and have gone 1–2–0 in their last three matchups against the Panthers.
Oh, would you look at that.@NewAmsterdam | #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/2YdBbaGNIG
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 24, 2023
Florida Panthers Struggling with Road Games, Tampa Bay Lightning Outperforming With 4 Wins in 5 Games
The Florida Panthers have won two of their last five games and have been struggling in their road games, having lost three of four. The Tampa Bay Lightning, on the other hand, have won four of their last five, with only an away game loss in that span. Additionally, Florida has had a slow offensive production with three of their last five games yielding zero or one goal. Contrarily, Tampa Bay has posted 22 goals in the same amount of time and has managed to win four consecutive home games. It is anticipated that Tampa Bay will follow suit in their next game.
Sources: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]
