Tampa Bay Vs Florida: Best Bets For Game One

• The Tampa Bay Lightning (-120) are favored to beat the Panthers at home in the first game of the series.
• Sportsbooks have -185 odds for the Panthers and Lightning to finish with under 6.5 goals scored.
• All four games between these teams in the regular season finished with a total of under 7 goals.

TAMPA, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Lightning kick off the postseason as favorites at home in the first round against the Florida Panthers.

These two teams have faced off in the postseason three times over the last four years. The Lightning won the first two series but the Panthers knocked out Tampa Bay in the first round of the 2023-24 postseason in only five games.

This year, Tampa and Florida have split the season series (2-2).

Bet On The Bolts With Home-Ice Advantage

The Lightning dominated from home this season, finishing with a record of 29-8-4. The same cannot be said for the Bolts on the road, finishing with a record of 18-19-4. Tampa Bay finished the season with the second-most wins at home in the Eastern Conference.

The Florida Panthers were also better at home this season and finished with a record of 20-19-2 on the road. When playing against the Atlantic Division on the road this season, the Panthers only won four of their 13 games.

Another reason to take the Bolts at legal sports betting sites is because of the uncertainty around Matthew Tkachuk playing the first game.

He is currently a game-time decision but could make a huge difference in this postseason. Tkachuk was sidelined with a lower-body injury during the 4 Nations Face Off.

Also, Aaron Ekblad will miss the first and second games of the season for the Panthers, due to a 20-game suspension he received during the second half of the regular season.

Bet Under 6.5 Goals (-185)

The total for this game is set at 5.5 but most NHL sportsbooks offer alternative totals as well. One of the best bets for this matchup is for the game to have under 6.5 total goals scored at -185 odds.

Andrei Vasilevskiy finished the season with the fourth-best save percentage (.921) and he and Sergei Bobrovsky both finished in the top five for most wins.

All four regular-season games between the Lightning and the Panthers finished with fewer than seven goals scored this season.

News tags: Aaron Ekblad | Andrei Vasilevskiy | Florida Panthers | Matthew Tkachuk | NHL | Sergei Bobrovsky | Stanley Cup Playoffs | Tampa Bay Lightning