TAMPA, FL – APRIL 9: Victor Hedman #77 of the Tampa Bay Lightning skates by the team bench and celebrates his goal with teammates against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period at the Amalie Arena on April 9, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

The Florida Panthers look to end the regular season with a win.

Florida is 47-30-4 and sits third in the Atlantic Division. The Panthers will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making this game more of a final tune-up before the race for the Cup begins. In three of their last four games, Florida's defense has been solid.

Tampa Bay is 46-26-8 and holds second place in the Atlantic Division. As the higher seed, the Lightning will have the home-ice advantage against the Panthers in the playoffs. Recently, the Bolts have had a mix of overtime and shootout losses, along with some high-scoring wins.

Spread

Panthers +1.5 (-165)
Lightning -1.5 (+145)

Moneyline

Panthers +160
Lightning -178

Total

OVER 5.5 (-110)
UNDER 5.5 (-106)

*The above data was collected on April 14, 2025, and may have changed since writing.

Panthers vs Lightning Betting Trends

The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Florida's last 8 games.
Florida is 3-6 SU in their last 9 games.
Florida is 10-3 SU in their last 13 games against Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in their last 6 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Tampa Bay's last 19 games against Florida.
Tampa Bay is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Florida.

Panthers vs Lightning Injury Reports

Florida Panthers

Mackie Samoskevich, RW - Out
Niko Mikkola, D - Out
Brad Marchand, C - Out
Anton Lundell, C - Out
Eetu Luostarinen, C - Out
Matthew Tkachuk, LW - Injured Reserve

Tampa Bay Lightning

Darren Raddysh, D - Day-to-day
Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW - Out
Luke Glendening, C - Out

Panthers vs Lightning Predictions and Picks

The Panthers battle the Lightning in this Stanley Cup First Round playoff preview. Florida is 4-5-1 in its last ten games and has a goal differential of +33. The Panthers are currently on a five-game road losing streak, though several of those losses were close. Florida ranks around the top ten in both scoring and special teams play.

In their last game, the Panthers lost to the New York Rangers at home, 5-3. It was a tough loss for Florida; they blew two leads and allowed four unanswered goals. Despite outshooting the Rangers 30-25 and being the more physical team, they failed to maintain momentum.

The Lightning are 6-1-3 in their last ten games and have the best goal differential in the Eastern Conference and the second-best in the league at +75. They are wrapping up a four-game homestand, where they've gone 1-0-2 so far, with all games hitting the over. Tampa Bay boasts the league's top offense and ranks in the top five in goals against and power play efficiency.

In their last game, Tampa Bay beat the Buffalo Sabres at home, 7-4. The Bolts scored first but gave up two goals in the final minute of the first period. They responded with four goals in the second and maintained a three- to four-goal lead throughout the third. Tampa outshot Buffalo 31-25 and went 1-for-2 on the power play.

tampa bay lightning

Michael GaraventaWriter