The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers meet in Game 5 of a best-of-7 Eastern Conference, 1st-round series Monday. The Panthers lead the series 3-1. Puck drop from Amerant Bank Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Lightning vs. Panthers odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Lightning awakened to salvage a Game 4 win in a 6-3 surge Saturday. They put up an eye-popping 61 hits in the game. C Steven Stamkos and LW Brandon Hagel each had 2 goals in the W. It was encouraging to see some desperation from the team that really looked flat in the first 3 games.
The Panthers weren’t terrible, going 2 for 2 on the power play, but they allowed Tampa to go 2 for 5 on their PP. C Sam Reinhart scored his 3rd goal of the series. LW Matthew Tkachuk had 2 assists but just 2 shots on goal. They return home with another chance to send the Lightning to the golf course.
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Lightning at Panthers odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:15 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Lightning +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Panthers -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Lightning +1.5 (-155) | Panthers -1.5 (+125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Lightning at Panthers projected goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (30-20-2, 2.90 GAA, .900 SV%, 2 SO) vs. Sergei Bobrovsky (36-17-4, 2.37 GAA, .915 SV%, 6 SO)
Vassy got the win in Game 4, but he still allowed 3 goals on 25 shots for an .880 SV%. He has a 3.01 GAA and .899 SV% in the series. After allowing 2 goals in Game 1, he has allowed 3+ in the 3 games since.
Bob had an off game Saturday, allowing 6 goals on 32 shots. He allowed 7 goals in the 3 games combined before Game 4. He has a 3.21 GAA and .874 SV% in the series after the clunker.
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Lightning at Panthers picks and predictions
Prediction
Panthers 4, Lightning 2
Moneyline
The Lightning could always turn it on one more time, but the alarming thing for me is RW Nikita Kucherov. In an elimination game, he had 0 shots on goal. Granted, he had 3 assists, but Florida has completely neutralized him, and he has 0 goals in the series.
The Panthers are too expensive to consider here. Instead, take NIKITA KUCHEROV UNDER 3.5 SHOTS (-165). He had 4 shots once in 4 Games in the series.
Puck line/Against the spread
Another prop I see is VICTOR HEDMAN OVER 2.5 SHOTS (+125).
It’s a little surprising to see him at plus-money when he has 3+ SOG in 3 of 4 games in the series. Send it with Hedman!
Over/Under
The last 2 games took the Over, but the first 2 in the Panthers’ arena were 3-2 finishes. I look for a similar Game 5 result. The Over is just 5-5 in the last 10 meetings, and I’ll take the UNDER 6.5 (-115).
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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