Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 12/23/24

The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers will be facing off against one another for the second time in 24 hours. The Panthers defeated the Lightning 4-2 on Sunday night. This marked the fourth consecutive win for the Panthers. The tides seem to have shifted in Florida with the Panthers now being the dominant team. The Panthers may not have a Nikita Kucherov on their team, but they are very solid all around. Their special teams are very strong, most notably their penalty kill. They lead the league in short-handed goals and they had two on the same penalty kill Sunday night against the Lightning. The Panthers will have Sergei Bobrovsky in net as Spencer Knight was tending the goal on Sunday. This will give them a significant advantage as Andrei Vasilevskiy started for the Lightning on Sunday.

This Lightning team is a veteran group that will definitely be bringing a strong effort after losing to the Panthers on Sunday. Their top line can compete with anyone in the NHL, but they do not have the forward depth to match the Panthers. They will have backup netminder Jonas Johansson in goal who has a brutal 3.84 GAA and .882 SVP on the season. The Panthers should be able to pick him apart. I will be siding with the Panthers in this one, looking to make it two straight against the Lightning. Give me the Panthers on the money line.

Lightning vs Panthers prediction: Panthers ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.