Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Pick & Prediction DECEMBER 22nd 2024

Stadium: Amalie Arena Tampa
Logo Florida Panthers
VS
Logo Tampa Bay Lightning
6.5
OPENER
-1.5
6.5o 106
CURRENT
1.5 -260
-106
MONEYLINE
-104
0
SCORE
0

Preview and Prediction

In a rare consecutive match-up against their in-state foe, the Tampa Bay Lightning will display the NHL's leading offense as they welcome the rival Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon.

This will be the first encounter of the season with the Stanley Cup champions before heading southeast for the rematch in Sunrise on Monday.

The Lightning boast four players who average over a point per game, along with Anthony Cirelli (28 points) who is on track for a career-best season. They also hold the top spot in the NHL with an impressive 4.00 goals per game.

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Nikita Kucherov, currently on a nine-game point streak, leads the team with 49 points in 28 games (1.75 points per game). He is followed by Brayden Point (1.46), Brandon Hagel (1.23), and Jake Guentzel (1.10).

Even the fourth line of Michael Eyssimont, Luke Glendening, and Zemgus Girgensons contributed a goal in Tuesday's 5-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets, with Glendening scoring the opening goal.

Head coach Jon Cooper acknowledges that his fourth line may not score as much as the Point line, but their contributions are still celebrated by the team.

The Lightning are currently on a four-game winning streak and have a strong record of 10-4-1 at home. The Panthers, on the other hand, have a record of 11-6-1 on the road.

The two teams from the Sunshine State have had a successful past five years, with one of them appearing in the Stanley Cup Finals each year. The Lightning have made it to the finals from 2020 to 2022, while the Panthers have made it in two consecutive years.

Although it is still early in the season, both teams are in a good position for a potential sixth consecutive finals appearance.

The two teams faced off in the first round of the playoffs in April, with the Panthers coming out on top in five games as they began their journey to the title.

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Both teams recently returned from successful trips out west. The Panthers went 3-2-0, while the Lightning went 3-1-0.

Florida had back-to-back shutout losses against the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames, but bounced back with two wins against the Edmonton Oilers (6-5) and the Minnesota Wild (6-1).

Winger Matthew Tkachuk was named the NHL's First Star of the Week ending on December 8th and has a total of 34 points (13 goals, 21 assists) in 29 games.

In Friday's homecoming game against the St. Louis Blues, Panthers' captain Aleksander Barkov stole the show. He played the final 2:28 of overtime and single-handedly took on two St. Louis forwards, stripping the puck from Dylan Holloway, deking past him along the boards, and fending off Brayden Schenn before drawing a tripping penalty from Schenn.

Barkov then sealed the deal with a game-winning goal with only 17 seconds left on the clock, earning himself two points for the night. This impressive performance comes after missing two games due to illness.

Head coach Paul Maurice praised Barkov's performance, stating that it was a "great moment from a great player." Defenseman Uvis Balinskis, who scored his first goal of the season on Friday, also had high praise for Barkov, calling him "unbelievable."

Aaron Ekblad's assist on Barkov's game-winning goal tied him with Stephen Weiss (249) for third in the organization's history.

The Panthers have also seen a boost on the defensive end from Niko Mikkola, who has scored a career-high four goals in 34 games this season.

PREDICTION
Florida Panthers
4
3
Tampa Bay Lightning

Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Recap MAY 23TH 2022

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the visiting Florida Panthers 5-1 in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup playoffs second-round series on Sunday and move within one win of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for a third straight season.

Steven Stamkos scored two goals and Corey Perry and Erik Cernak also scored. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 34 saves for the Lightning, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions who will bring a 3-0 lead into Game 4 on Monday night in Tampa.

Vasilevskiy held the Toronto Maple Leafs to one goal in a 2-1 victory in Game 7 of their first-round series, and he has limited the Panthers to one goal in each of the first three games of this series.

Sam Reinhart scored and Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves for Florida, which had the best record in the NHL during the regular season.

Perry, who turned 37 earlier in the week, scored for the third straight game off a deflection in front of the net to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 13:21 of the first period.

Brandon Hagel was penalized for cross-checking Eetu Luostarinen into the end boards and the Panthers went on their first power play at 15:29 of the first.

Florida came in 0-for-25 with the man-advantage in these playoffs, but Reinhart scored on the ensuing power play to tie the score 1-1 at 16:07.

Cernak used Florida defenseman MacKenzie Weegar as a screen and scored with a wrist shot from the left circle to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 2:54 of the second period.

Aleksander Barkov hit the post for the Panthers at 5:59 before the Lightning stretched the lead to 3-1 on a one-timer from the left circle by Stamkos.

Kucherov scored into an empty net to make it 4-1 with 3:54 left. Stamkos then hit the empty net with 2:09 remaining.