Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers: NHL Odds & Best Bets

A classic battle of the ice happens tonight in the Sunshine State as the Florida Panthers host the Tampa Bay Lightning. The teams currently sit in 2nd and 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, and are safe in playoff position. However with plenty of time left in the regular season, they will certainly want to add some wins to their record.

These teams faced twice already this season, and are split at one game a piece. The road team has actually come out on top in both outings as well. The Panthers took down the Lightning in Tampa on December 22nd, beating them 4-2. The very next day, the two teams played again in Sunrise, with Tampa Bay shutting out Florida, winning 4-0.

Now they go head to head again this season as things start to come to a close. Who will end up on top tonight?

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Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers: Battle for Florida

Matchup Information – Lightning vs Panthers

• Venue & Location: Amerant Bank Arena (Sunrise, FL)
• Date: Monday, March 3rd, 2025
• Puck Drop: 7:00pm Eastern
• Broadcast: ESPN+

Betting Odds

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Puck Line

• Lightning +1.5 (-195)
• Panthers -1.5 (+170)

Money Line

• Lightning +136
• Panthers -153

Total

• Over 5.5 (-120)
• Under 5.5 (+104)

Sunshine State Rivals Face Off

In the first meeting between the two teams, Florida outshot Tampa Bay 26-21. The Panthers took advantage of one of their two power play opportunities, while killing all three of their own penalties. It's also worth noting that the final goal was an empty netter, as Tampa Bay got within a goal with over 16 minutes left on the clock. Things were a bit different in game 2.

The teams played each other on back to back nights, and the Lightning got immediate revenge. They were still outshot by the Panthers in that game 36-29, but they finally were success with a man advantage on 1/3 opportunities. On the other side of things, Tampa Bay successfully killed all four penalties on the road en route to their shutout victory.

Both teams are bottom half in the NHL in shots allowed per game, holding teams under 28 shots each. Offensively, Florida leads the league in shots on goal per game, while the Lightning are 19th in that same category. Overall, the Panthers are slightly better on paper, but without Tkachuk in the lineup, do we think they can put up a fight tonight?

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Best Bets

Lightning vs Panthers Prediction: Panthers Win, Under 5.5

Best Bets: TB/FLA Under 5.5 (+104) BetOnline

It's nasty, but we are backing the under in this matchup. Both previous games would've gone under had it not been for an empty netter, and we do have two great defenses and two of the best tenders in the league.

Andrei Vasilevskiy is 2nd in the league in Goals Against per game, allowing just 2.21. Sergei Bobrovsky is 16th in the NHL, giving up just 2.59. It helps that both goal tenders have great defenses in front of them, but even when facing shots, these guys are great. Vasi is still 2nd in save percentage, and even though Bobrovsky drops off in the standings, he still saves over 90% of shots faced.

Tampa Bay has stayed under 5.5 in all four games since the break, and Florida's stayed under in 3/4. I see defenses dominating this rivalry game tonight, resulting in a 2-2 game decided by overtime.

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