Tampa Bay Lightning will host Florida Panthers in one of the most interesting matches in Tuesday’s NHL action. The hosts want to build up on their latest victory and continue the winning streak. It is the first game on the road for the away side, and they search an upset against the defending champions.
Tampa Bay heads to this game after beating Washington in Capital One Arena after overtime. The home side now wants to secure the first victory on their ice this season and build their confidence as the regular season continues. On the other hand, Florida will look forward to winning their first match away from home. They face a fierce rival and want to do some damage to the Lightning early in the season.
Tampa Bay Lightning – Will they celebrate their first home win?
The Lightning gets back home after two straight road games in which they were 100% successful. Tampa Bay won both matches after overtime, and they had pretty tough rivals. They were better than the Red Wings last Friday before beating the Capitals two days later. The hosts improved to a 2-1-0 record since they lost their season-opener against the Penguins on the home ice. Therefore, the Lightning searches for the first home win, which could improve their standings in the Atlantic Division.
However, Tampa Bay needs to resolve its defensive issues, as they have conceded 13 goals in three matches. Nevertheless, we noticed an improvement in the latest match, when Andrei Vasilevskiy had a .970 save percentage, allowing just one goal from 33 opponent attempts. On the other hand, the Lightning does well in the offense, scoring 11 times on three occasions. Steven Stamkos leads the attacking corps with seven points, while Victor Hedman has logged five assists so far.
Expected Line-Up: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jan Rutta, Victor Hedman, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point
with best odds
Florida Panthers – Can they beat their fierce rivals on the road?
The Panthers enjoy a successful start to their campaign, as they celebrated in both matches at the beginning of the regular season. They booked an overtime win against the Penguins in the season-opener before beating the Islanders in the latest round. Florida is joint-second in the Atlantic Division, but the visitors have two games in hand over the top-placed Toronto Maple Leafs. However, they face the defending champions in their first game on the road, and a tough challenge is ahead of the Cats.
Florida has been doing very well in defense, and they have conceded 2.5 goals per match on average. Sergei Bobrovsky ended the game against the Islanders with a .967 save percentage, allowing just one goal from 29 rival shots. On the other hand, the Cats have been producing five goals per game, and Sam Bennet is the leader on the team scoreboard with three goals, completing a hat-trick against New York. Gustav Forsling added three assists, while Carter Verhaeghe, Aaron Ekblad, and Anthony Duclair have scored a pair of goals each.
Expected Line-Up: Sergei Bobrovsky, MacKenzie Weegar, Radko Gudas, Mason Marchment, Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe
Expert Pick #1 – Tampa Bay Lightning to win (Inc. OT and Pen.) @-125
Tampa Bay fought for an important victory against the Capitals on the road, and they go to this match full of confidence. Although Florida is in good form, the Lightning searches for the first home win, and I believe they will deliver it. Give me the Lightning as my first pick.
Expert Pick #2 – Over 6 @-107
The home side has been pretty efficient so far, but they have conceded too many goals this season. The Panthers could take advantage of Tampa Bay vulnerabilities in the back, and we should see at least six goals in total. Therefore, I’ll take the Over as my second bet.
Expert Pick #3 – Tampa Bay Lightning to win ML @+128
I’m going with a bit higher odds for my third pick, taking the Lightning to win in regular time. I find a very good value in this tip, and I’ll take it as my second alternative
