Lightning vs. Panthers prediction: Stanley Cup Playoffs odds, picks

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers a💦re set to ⛄clash in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third time in four seasons.

Game 1 of the firsꦰt-round series will commence in Sunrise, Fla. on Sunday afternoon between the previous two Eastern Confeꦚrence champions. 

The Lightning are surprisingly priced as +152 underdogs to win a series that I believe has legs to go the distance. 💯;

Let’s take a look at Game 1 and make a pick.

Lightning vs. Panthers odds

Team	Moneyline	Puck Line	Total
Lightning	+142	+1.5 (-185)	o5.5 (-122)
Panthers	-170	-1.5 (+154)	u5.5 (+102)

Lightning vs. Panthers prediction

There’s no dou꧂bt Florida is one of the best defensive teams in the NHL.

They’ve limited opponeꦕnts to a league-best 2.41 goals and are arguably the most frustrating team to achieve zone entry on at five-on-five play, executing their signature style of toughness and grit to a tee all season long. 

They won the season series against Tampa Bay 2-1, outscored 🐻the Lightning, 15-9, and carried a majority of the fi♎ve-on-five play.

But here’s the thing: Playing Tampa Bay as a wild🍨-card team is no reward for winning your divisꩲion.

The Lightning core is only two years removed from back-to-back Stanley Cup titles and Nikita Kucherov just sewed together the best season in franchise history with 144 points.&🦩nbsp;

While Florida is more of a top-heavy lineup 💯in terms of its offensive contributions, Tampa Bay has the pedigree to create offense against anyone, especially on the power play. 

The league’s No. 1 unit that cashed in at a 28.6 percent share𒅌 is heavily supported by the slippery forwardꦆ who’s favored to win the MVP; Kucherov potted 13 power-play goals in 81 games.

Even when opponents ar🌜e prepared for him to set up on the weakside flank, he still finds ways to strike on one-timers. 

He’s primed to see his fair share of shooting lanes on Sunday against a Florida team that averaged the league’s second-highest number of penalty minutes (13.5 per game). 

This experienc𓃲ed depth around Kucherov makes any of his player props throughout this series attractive giveౠn how cerebral his decision-making skills are with the puck.

He’s most dangerous when changing ge♔ars off the rush and shakin♔g off a defenseman on his way to the net. 

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Lightning vs. Panthers pick

Kucherov’s threat as a playmaker has the o🎃ver on his shots prop priced generously; he r𒁏egistered 100 assists, but he still mustered 3.7 shots on goal per game and 3.6 versus Florida.

This is exceptionally high considering Tampa rank𒊎ed 21st in shots average. 

Pick: Nikita Kucherov over 3.5 shots (+105, BetMGM)