Lightning vs Panthers Game 1 Prediction, Odds & Picks – 2024 NHL Playoffs

• The Battle of Florida Playoff series begins on Sunday afternoon
• The Game 1 Lightning vs Panthers odds favor the Cats on home ice
• Read below for Lightning vs Panthers Game 1 prediction, odds and picks

The Battle of Florida kicks off the first full day of Stanley Cup action on Sunday, April 20th. The NHL Playoff odds favor Paul Maurice’s club to secure the victory in the series’ opening game.

What’s the best bet to make for Florida vs Tampa Bay? Let’s dive into the odds and offer our Game 1 Panthers vs Lightning prediction.

Lightning vs Panthers Game 1 Odds

In the Game 1 Lightning vs Panthers odds, the Cats are heavy -170 home favorites, giving them 63% implied win probability.

Lightning vs Panther is the first of four NHL Playoff games on Sunday. Puck drop set for 12:30 pm ET at FLA Live Arena, with ESPN carrying the broadcast.

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Odds as of April 20, 2024, at ESPN Sportsbook. Check out these ESPN Bet promotions to wager on the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

Lightning Betting Trends

Tampa Bay finished below the Panthers in the NHL regular-season standings, but they have history on their side for this matchup. The Bolts are 2-0 in playoff series against the Panthers, with both of those series wins coming within the past three years.

The Bolts are led by Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov, who led the league with 144 points, and was tied for first with 100 assists. Brayden Point led the NHL with 12 game-winning goals.

Nikita Kucherov officially wins the Art Ross Trophy with 144 points this season 🏆🔥 pic.twitter.com/BAnSeMPz91

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 19, 2024

Tampa Bay’s true x-factor in this series is goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, who started the season on the injured list but finished 30-20-2 with a 2.90 GAA and two shutouts. “Playoff Vasi” is something else entirely, as the Russian netminder is 50-27 in the postseason since 2020.

The Bolts enter this game in a slump, having managed just one win in their past four contests. The good news is that the lone victory came in their season-finale against the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which the team exploded for six goals (6-4 W).

Panthers Bettig Trends

The Panthers are looking to build on their impressive 2024 NHL regular season, in which they collected 110 points, good for the Atlantic Division title. The Panthers finished the year with 52 wins, the second most in franchise history.

Last year, the Panthers advanced to the Stanley Cup finals for just the second time in franchise history, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights. However, they avoided the Bolts in 2023 after previously being eliminated by them the past two postseasons.

The Panthers are one of the deepest teams in the 2024 NHL postseason, ranking first in goals against (2.41 GAA) and 11th in goals scored (3.23). The Cats have the second-best Corsi percentage (55.7%) of any team this season.

Sam Reinhart finished second in the league with 57 goals and first with 27 power-play tallies, while defenseman Gustav Forsling led the league in plus/minus (56).

Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head last postseason with a .926 save percentage during Florida’s run to the Cup Final. He’s continued his strong play into the 2024 season, finishing tied for third in wins (36) and notching an NHL-high six shutouts.

Lightning vs Panthers Game 1 Prediction

We took Florida in our Lightning vs Panthers series preview, as we feel they have more depth and excellent goaltending that can match up to Vasilevskiy. The Panthers went 2-1-0 against the Lightning this season, netting six goals against Vasi in a 9-2 blowout win on Feb. 17.

Tampa Bay’s lethal power play (28.6%) has been their calling card all season, but now they must face the Panthers’ sixth-ranked penalty kill (82.5%). The Cats are on a four-game winning streak, and we expect them to carry that momentum into their playoff opener.

TBL vs FLA Game 1 Pick:

• Panthers ML (-170)