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The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning meet in Game 3 of a best-of-7 Eastern Conference, 1st-round series Thursday. The Panthers lead the series 2-0. Puck drop from Amalie Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Panthers vs. Lightning odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Panthers endured the Lightning with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 2. It came at a cost, though, as C Sam Bennett is out with an upper body injury in this one. Bennett, who had 20 goals in the regular season, scored a goal in the 1st of Game 2.
The Lightning were just 1 for 6 on the power play in Game 2, and that will need to be improved upon in order to climb back in it. RW Nikita Kucherov has been kept off the score sheet with just 3 SOG in 2 games, but he has 2 assists. The Lightning were 25-11-5 on home ice this season.
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Panthers at Lightning odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:35 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Panthers -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Lightning -115 (bet $115 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Panthers +1.5 (-275) | Lightning -1.5 (+220)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Panthers at Lightning projected goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky (36-17-4, 2.37 GAA, .915 SV%, 6 SO) vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy (30-20-2, 2.90 GAA, .900 SV%, 2 SO)
Bob has been solid, allowing just 2 goals in each game of the series. He really hasn’t been tested too much, though, stopping 17 in Game 1 and 21 in Game 2. He was 2-1-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .892 SV% in 3 games against Tampa during the regular season.
Vassy has been solid as well, despite being in an 0-2 hole. He stopped 25 of 27 in Game 1 and 34 of 37 in Game 2 as Florida has just turned up the decibels to ear-popping levels. He was 1-2-0 with a 4.50 GAA and .883 SV% in 3 regular season games against Florida.
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Panthers at Lightning picks and predictions
Prediction
Lightning 3, Panthers 2
Moneyline
The Panthers have won 6 of the last 7 meetings — including 3 in this building. This really is the Lightning’s last stand, though, because if they lose this one, they’re likely getting swept. They have considerable questions to answer during the offseason as well with C Steven Stamkos becoming a free agent.
The Panthers are down a man, and I look for the Lightning to put up more than the handful of shots they’ve taken thus far.
Take the LIGHTNING -115 at a solid price.
Puck line/Against the spread
I’m going to pass on the puck line, but I will take a chance on something that will correlate with a Lightning win. Kucherov has to get going. Three shots on goal in 2 playoff losses looks bad, and I look for him to come out firing.
Take NIKITA KUCHEROV ANYTIME GOAL +140 for a good return.
Over/Under
At most, I see a push here. The Over is just 3-7 in the last 10 meetings between the clubs. We have had a 3-2 final in each game, and maybe an empty netter pushes it here.
LEAN UNDER 6 (-120).
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