The Tampa Bay Lightning (35-20-4) travel to face off against the Florida Panthers (37-21-3) on Monday, March 3rd. This game will be played at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise and televised on ESPN+. The Panthers are coming off a win in their previous game, while the Lightning are looking to get back on track from a loss to the Jets. Puck drop is set for 7:00 ET.

Lightning vs Panthers

The Tampa Bay Lightning Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Tampa Bay fell to 35-20-4 after a 7-4 road loss to the Jets. The Lightning, underdogs on the puck line, allowed the game’s total of 11 goals to surpass the pre-game line of 6.5.

The Lightning held a 2-0 lead early, but the Jets responded with seven of the next nine goals. Four different Lightning players found the net in the loss.

The Florida Panthers Are Coming Off A Win

Florida improved to 37-21-3 with a 4-2 win over the Stars. The Panthers covered the puck line as -1.5 goal favorites, and the total of 6 goals fell short of the 6.5-goal line. All four of Florida’s goals came from different players.

The Panthers led 2-0 before the Stars tied it up in the second period. A.J. Greer put Florida ahead again at 2:32 in the third, and Sam Reinhart added an empty-net goal to seal the win.

Tampa Bay Offense Breakdown

Brandon Hagel opened the scoring for the Lightning, netting his 7th goal of the season. Brayden Point followed with his 8th goal, which came on a power play. Mitchell Chaffee added his 4th goal, while Nikita Kucherov scored for the 10th time this season, tying the game 4-4 in the third period.

The Lightning took 30 shots on goal and recorded 8 giveaways. They scored twice in the first period, once in the second, and added their final goal in the third.

Panthers Offense Breakdown

Carolina’s offense found the net four times in their 4-2 win over Dallas, with A.J. Greer scoring his first goal of the season and Sam Reinhart adding his 10th on an empty net. The Panthers took 25 shots on goal and scored once on the power play, as Matthew Tkachuk netted his third goal of the year.

Evan Rodrigues opened the scoring for the Panthers, picking up his third goal of the season in the first period. Carolina recorded 16 giveaways in the game and had six assists on their four goals.

Tampa Bay Team Defense

Tampa Bay’s defense struggled late, giving up the final three goals in their 7-4 loss to the Jets. After tying the game at 4-4, the Lightning allowed a goal at the 7:38 mark of the 3rd period, followed by two empty-netters. Jonas Johansson made 27 saves with an 84.4% save percentage.

Florida Team Defense

Defensively, the Panthers will look to carry the momentum from their last game, where they allowed just 2 goals to Dallas. Spencer Knight made 23 saves with a 92% save percentage, and the defense added 8 takeaways and 22 hits. After giving up two goals in the 2nd period, they shut out the Stars in the 3rd.

Lightning vs Panthers Trends

• Although Tampa Bay has a straight up record of 5-5 in their last ten road games, they have not held up as well vs the puck line going 5-5. The team averaged 3 goals per game in these games.
• Through their last three home games, Florida has an puck line record of just 1-2. However, their overall record was 2-1 while averaging 2 goals per game.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Panthers have gone 3-2 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 2-3.
• Through their last three games as the favorite, the Lightning have an puck line record of 3-0 and a straight up mark of 3-0.

Lightning vs Panthers Prediction

When it comes to a moneyline wager, I’m going with the Lightning to defeat the Panthers while playing on the road. Given the current moneyline odds at +103, I’m placing a wager on the Lightning to win outright.

Our projections have the Lightning pulling out a win as the underdog. But if you’re not as bullish as we are on the Lightning, we’d recommend at least getting a bet down on them to cover the puck line.

If you’re looking at the over/under line set at 5.5 goals, our prediction is that this game will exceed that mark, and we strongly advise placing a bet on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.