The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Florida Panthers in Game 6 of their Stanley Cup Playoffs first-round series Wednesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena. Below, we analyze the Panthers-Lightning odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Panthers fought off elimination in Game 5 with an impressive 4-1 victory at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla., to live another day. Rookie G Spencer Knight was given his first NHL postseason start, and he earned the win in the toughest of spots.
The Lightning frittered away their first of three chances to put away their Sunshine State rivals, but they’re still in very good shape. Tampa Bay lost Game 3 in its home arena by a 6-5 score in overtime but routed Florida 6-2 in Game 4 at Amalie.
Panthers at Lightning: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Panthers +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Lightning -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Panthers +1.5 (-200) | Lightning -1.5 (+165)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Panthers at Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Spencer Knight (4-0-0, 2.32 GAA, .919 SV%) vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy (31-10-1, 2.21 GAA, .925 SV%, 5 SO)
Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville rolled the dice on the rookie Knight, and he looked like a genius. Knight turned aside 36 of the 37 shots he faced to pick up his first NHL postseason victory in Game 5.
Vasilevskiy wasn’t terrible Monday, as he allowed just 3 goals on 37 shots, but Knight was just a little better. The veteran is 3-2-0 with a 3.16 GAA and .919 SV% in five starts in this series.
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Panthers at Lightning: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Lightning 3, Panthers 2
Money line (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-150) blew their chance to send the Panthers to the handshake line in Game 5. That won’t the case here, as Vasilevskiy should help the defending champs move along to the second round to face the winner of the Carolina-Nashville series in the Central Division Final.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The Panthers +1.5 (-200) will cost you twice as much as your potential return, and that’s a little more than I am comfortable risking. The Lightning -1.5 (+165) are tempting at this price, but this one should be super close, and might even require overtime to hash out a winner.
AVOID.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 6 (-120) is the best play on the board. The later you get into a series, the more the goals are at a premium. It won’t be any different in this Game 6, unless Knight completely falls apart. It certainly won’t be the battle-tested Vasilevskiy who is dinged for a ton of goals.
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