An NHL Game Day Preview between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers
When: 7:30 PM EST, May 16, 2021
Where: BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL
Puckline: Lightning -1.5 | Panthers +1.5
Moneyline: Tampa Bay -130
OVER/UNDER Game Total: 5.5
Tampa Bay Lightning
Playoff Record: 0-0
Away Record:0-0
Florida Panthers
Playoff Record: 0-0
Home Record:0-0
Tampa Lightning Vs Florida Panthers Game Day Preview
The Florida Panthers will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of their Central Division opening-round series.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning are no stranger to playoff atmosphere, and will look to defend their 2020 Stanley Cup Championship.
It may be possible because Tampa Bay will have Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos healthy. Kucherov missed the entire regular season following hip surgery; Stamkos hasn’t played since April 8, when he sustained a lower-body injury.
However, the Lightning have struggled against Florida this season, winning only three out of the eight games against them. Andrei Vasilevskiy has also struggled against Florida, giving up 4+ goals in four out of the eight games against them.
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs for just the 7th time in franchise history. Florida has only won a Round 1 playoff series once, which was in 1995, the year the team made it to the Cup Finals.
While Florida will face off against the reigning Stanley Cup Champs, there is not much to worry about. Florida’s Alex Wennberg had five goals against the Lightning in the regular season, more than anyone else had in the eight head-to-head meetings. In addition, the Panthers have won five out of the eight games against Tampa Bay this season.
Florida’s netminder, Sergei Bobrovsky, has also had success against Tampa Bay this season. In five games against Tampa Bay this season, Bobrovsky is 3-2. However, in those games, Bobrovsky has a 3.32 GAA and .879 save percentage.
Matchup Facts
- The Panthers are 6-0 in their last six overall games.
- The home team is 20-8 in the last 28 meetings.
- The Lightning are 0-3 in their last three overall games.
- The Panthers have won the last three games against Tampa Bay.