Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning will open the NHL Eastern Conference semi-finals action on Tuesday evening. The home side wants to continue with good displays on the home ice and open this series successfully. The visitors head to this one after a huge win in Toronto and will try to build up on that game.
Florida celebrated its first playoffs win in over 20 years, and they don’t want to stop here. The hosts will try to eliminate the two-time defending champions in this tie and continue their Stanley Cup hunt. On the other hand, Tampa Bay goes to this match after a seven-match rally in the first round. Nevertheless, they have enough experience to be competitive in this series as well.
Florida Panthers – Will they continue their good home form?
The Panthers managed to eliminate the Washington Capitals after six games in the first round of the NHL playoffs. They celebrated a 4-3 overtime win in Game 6 on Friday evening, thanks to a very good display in the second part of the match. It was Florida’s third straight victory, and the hosts enter the conference semi-finals full of confidence. Despite having six shots less than their rivals in the previous encounter, the Cats won two faceoffs more than their opponents. Florida wants to continue in the same fashion and celebrate for the fourth time in a row.
Carter Verhaeghe has been the most dominant player in the Panthers’ offense during the playoffs, being the team’s best scorer and topping the assists charts. Thanks to six goals and six assists, he has contributed to Florida’s offense with 12 points. Claude Giroux has managed to chip in with seven pts, while Aleksander Barkov has six. Aaron Ekblad has produced five pts so far, while three other players have three points each. On the goal, Sergei Bobrovsky has been Florida’s only goaltender in the post-season, having a .906 save percentage and allowing 2.79 goals per contest.
Expected Line-Up: Sergei Bobrovsky, Aaron Ekblad, Radko Gudas, Jonathan Huberdeau, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe
with best odds
Tampa Bay Lightning – Can they open this series with a road win?
The Lightning came out as winners after seven games against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although they were trailing 3-2 in the series, the two-time defending champions got away from a very tough situation. Tampa Bay heads to this one after a 2-1 road victory on Saturday evening. They had a narrow lead after each of the first two periods, while the result didn’t change in the final one. The Lightning were solid in defense and fought for a win despite firing fewer shots to the opponent’s goal. They also won 14 faceoffs less than their rivals.
Nikita Kucherov has led the Lightning’s offense with a team-high six assists and eight points in total. Victor Hedman has produced seven pts in the playoffs, while Ross Colton and Ondrej Palat have contributed to Tampa Bay’s offense with five points each. Palat is also the team’s best scorer, with three goals in the post-season. Five other skaters have chipped in with four pts apiece in the Lightning’s offense. On the goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy has made all seven appearances in the playoffs, allowing 3.04 goals per contest and having a .897 save percentage.
Expected Line-Up: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jan Rutta, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Steven Stamkos
Expert Pick #1 – Over 6.5 @-135
Both teams have been pretty efficient this season, and I expect to see at least seven goals in total in this encounter. Four of Tampa Bay’s last five matches went over the margin, while the Panthers have a very talented offense. Therefore, I’ll go with the Over as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Tampa Bay Lighting to win @+140
The Cats have been very mean on the home ice this season, but I think the Bolts are capable enough to produce an upset. Their confidence is sky-high after beating Toronto on the road, and I believe they can repeat a similar success. That’s why I’m backing the visitors as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Lightning Over 2.5 @-160
Tampa Bay managed to find the back of the net more than twice in five of the previous six encounters against the Panthers. I believe they can continue in the same fashion and produce at least three goals in this one as well. The odds are lower than for the other two picks, but I’ll go with this one as the second alternative.
