The Tampa Bay Lightning (1-3-0) are on the road to take on the Florida Panthers (3-1-0) at FLA Live Arena on Friday. Tampa Bay is coming off a 3-2 loss against the Flyers on Tuesday. The Lightning committed four penalties in the game, conceding one power play goal. Steven Stamkos was the only player to find the net, scoring twice for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy only had 21 saves on 24 shots against (.875%) in the loss. Florida beat the Flyers 4-3 on Wednesday. Carter Verhaeghe was the leading goal scorer for the Panthers, netting twice. Sergei Bobrovsky saved 31 of 34 shots.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams last met in the second round of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Lightning secured their place in the Eastern Conference Finals with a 2-0 win (4-0 series), their fifth straight win against Florida.
FACING OFF
Tampa Bay is averaging 2.50 goals per game so far this season, 27th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Panthers team that is allowing 3.00 goals a game (14th). Meanwhile, Florida has found the net 3.50 times a game on average, 14th in the league, and the Lightning are allowing opponents to score 3.50 goals per game (19th).The Lightning’s 33.33% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Panthers rank 24th with a conversion rate of 11.11%. When it comes to penalty killing, Florida has the league’s 10th-ranked PK% at 87.50%, while Tampa Bay is 22nd at 71.43%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With seven points early this season, Stamkos is the top skater for the Lightning. He has six goals and one assist in four games. In the net, Vasilevskiy (1-2-0) is Tampa Bay’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.73 GAA and a .912% save percentage. Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in scoring with six points. He has two goals and four assists in four games. Bobrovsky (2-1-0) has the best goals against average for Florida at 2.74. He has a save percentage of .920%.
HOME AND AWAY
Tampa Bay is 1-2-0 away from home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Florida Panthers (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
