Free Picks: Florida Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Florida Panthers (36-14-5) ran their winning streak to five on Saturday, beating the Lightning (36-16-3) and are now 8-2-0 in their last 10. They are the hottest team in the NHL, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Panthers lead the series 4-3, but the Lightning can tie the series on Monday in the last meeting of the season between these two Central Division clubs.

On Saturday, Florida forward Alex Wennberg tallied his second NHL hat trick as the Panthers drubbed Tampa 5-1. Sam Bennett scored again and he now has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 10 games since being acquired in a trade on April 12. The Panthers are averaging four goals a game since then.

Puck Line: Tampa is due for a win after two straight defeats, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Lightning get revenge. Florida and Tampa face each other in the first round.

The best sports bet today is taking the Florida Panthers (+1.5) on the Puck Line (-295) with 10Bet, even though it is expensive (bet $295 to win $100), so go lightly. I don’t see the Panthers losing by more than two goals.  And they just might win again.

Over/Under: On total goals, the lean is toward the Under (6.0) with 10Bet (-136) because I don’t think Florida’s scoring level is sustainable. But if you think the Panthers will stay hot, the Over (+108) is worth a look because the total has gone Over in 15 of Florida’s last 19 games against Tampa. 

The Panthers have won the last two games against Tampa by a collective 10-4 margin and Florida needs just one point to secure the No. 2 playoff seed. So I’m not sure the intensity comes down much. The Panthers and Lightning combined for 156 penalty minutes in a final tune-up on Saturday.

Money Line: For my Free Picks, I think a safe bet is either taking Florida (-115) on the Money Line, but if you think Florida will extend its five-game winning streak, a slightly riskier bet on the NHL game odds is taking Tampa (-105) with the Money Line on 10Bet.

If you like Tampa to end a two-game losing skid, a risky bet and one that will pay off big is taking Tampa (-1.5) on the Puck Line (+221) with 10Bet (bet $100 to win $221), although I think it’s highly unlikely Tampa can win by at least two goals and the implied odds (31%) suggest as much.

• Florida is 5-5 ATS in their last 10 games.
• The total has gone Over in four of Florida’s last five games.
• Tampa is 6-3 SU in their last nine games.
• Tampa is 4-6 ATS in their last 10 games.