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The Florida Panthers will seek to take a huge step towards the second round of the playoffs when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amerant Bank Arena on Monday. The Panthers lead the series 2-1 and are the clear favorites to win the best-of-seven series. We look ahead to the match in our Panthers vs. Lightning preview and name our latest NHL betting picks.
- What: NHL Play-Offs
- Who: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
- Where: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, Florida
- When: Monday April 28th, 2025
- Time: 7 p.m ET
After three matches of the series, neither side has managed a win on home ice. The Panthers won the opening two matches in Tampa Bay, while the Lightning got themselves back into the series with a win at the Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
Despite the weekend win, Tampa Bay is still in trouble. The latest NHL Playoffs Odds have Jon Cooper’s team at +220 to win the series. The Panthers are the favorite at -270.
Florida is the defending champions. They won the 2024 Stanley Cup with a 4-3 series win over the Oilers. Paul Maurice’s Panthers are the second favorite to win the cup again at +600. The betting favorites are the Hurricanes at +460.
It’s a similar story in the betting to win the Eastern Conference. Along with the Maple Leafs, the Panthers are the +300 joint-second favorites. Again, it’s the Carolina Hurricanes who are the betting favorites, this time at +200.
Monday night’s meeting in Sunrise will be the eighth time the two teams have met. Like in this series, the head-to-head is close. The Panthers lead the way with four wins to Tampa’s three.
Now, let’s look at the latest betting and see who the bookies are favoring to win the latest showdown between the two Atlantic Division rivals.
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting
With home advantage, the best NHL betting sites favor a win for the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers are -140 to win on the money line, with the Tampa Bay Lightning the outsiders at +120.
Tampa Bay is receiving the 1.5-point start on the puck line. They are -235 to win with the handicap start. The Panthers are +200 to win by two points or more and cover the spread.
The total points spread is set at 5.5 goals for this clash. Both over and under are -110.
We have plenty more Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning wagering options from the best NHL betting online sites, below. You can also learn about betting on the NHL on our How to Bet on Hockey Online page.
| Panthers vs. Lightning |  |  |  |
| Panthers | -140 | -140 | -140 |
| Lightning | +120 | +120 | +120 |
| Panthers (-1.5) | +200 | +200 | +200 |
| Lightning (+1.5) | -235 | -235 | -235 |
| Over 5.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 5.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: The story so far
The Florida Panthers won the opening two matches of the best-of-seven series in Tampa Bay.
Paul Maurice’s team romped to a 6-2 win in the opening match on Tuesday. They then backed that up with a 2-0 win at the Amalie Arena on Thursday.
With a two-match series deficit and back-to-back road trips to follow, things looked very bleak for the Lightning.
Then against the odds, Jon Cooper’s team went and won the first of their two away matches 5-1 at the Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday.
One down 😤#GoBolts | #TBLvsFLA pic.twitter.com/urmbJ8GfAl
— x – Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) April 26, 2025
Goals from Brayden Point, Nick Paul, Jake Guentzel, Luke Glendening, and Anthony Cirelli saw the Lightning storm back from 1-0 down to seal a convincing win.
The series has been full of non-stop action. We have seen 16 goals in the three matches, and there are likely to be plenty more in the remaining fixtures.
Now let’s name our NHL betting picks for Monday night’s fourth match.
Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Picks and Predictions
In their last ten, the Panthers are 5-5-0. They are averaging 2.3 goals per game and giving up 2.4 goals per game.
The Lightning are 4-3-3 in their last ten matches. Jon Cooper’s team has averaged 3.2 goals per game and has given up 2.8.
On home ice, the Panthers are 27-12-2. The Lightning are 18-19-4 on the road.
We already know that there have been 16 goals in the three playoff matches between the two. Over 5.5 goals have been covered in two of the three fixtures.
So, for our first pick, we are going for over 5.5 goals.
Now, onto our match-winner betting pick.
Can the Panthers finally break the run-of-away wins in this series? Surely, there has to be an end to this streak soon.
Furthermore, the Panthers are the defending champions and the second favorite to win the Stanley Cup. They are one of the best teams in the NHL and will no doubt up their game at some point.
Therefore we are going for a win for Florida. We are also backing them to win on the handicap as all three matches in this series have seen the puck line covered.
A win for Florida on the puck line is our betting pick.
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