Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Game 2 preview, predictions and odds | Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1, April 24, 2025

The Florida Panthers are on the road to play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Florida took Game 1 on the road 6-2 in a blowout fashion to take a 1-0 series lead.

Panthers vs Lightning: Head-to-head & key stats

Florida went 2-2 against Tampa Bay this season and is 1-0 in the playoffs
The Panthers went 20-19-2 on the road
Tampa Bay allowed 2.63 goals per game
Florida averaged 3 goals per game
The Lightning averaged 3.56 goals per game
The Panthers allowed 2.71 goals per game
Tampa Bay went 29-8-4 at home

Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Preview

Florida dominated Game 1 to take an early series lead. In Game 1, the Panthers were led by Matthew Tkachuk, who had 2 goals and an assist in his return, Aleksandar Barkov had 2 assists, while Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart both had a goal and an assist.

The Panthers will start Sergei Bobrovsky, who went 33-19-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .906 SV%. In his career against Tampa Bay, he's 14-13-3 with a 3.15 GAA and a .893 SV%. In Game 1, he made 20 saves on 22 shots.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, was blown out in Game 1 as the Lightning didn't play well at all. Andrei Vasilevskiy will start again, who made 10 saves on 16 shots. This season, he went 38-20-5 with a 2.18 GAA and a .921 SV%, and in his career against Florida, he's 17-15-1 with a 2.99 GAA and a .911 SV%.

The Lightning were led by Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point who scored while Gage Concalves, Nikita Kucherov, Ryan McDonagh, and Victor Hedman all had an assist.

Panthers vs Lightning: Odds & Prediction

Florida is a +105 underdog while Tampa Bay is a -125 favorite, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Panthers dominated Game 1, and in Game 2, this is a good spot for Tampa Bay to get back into the series and even it up. The Lightning should have a chip on their shoulder and come out strong, while Vasilevskiy will be much better here.

At these odds, this is a great spot to take the Bolts here.

Prediction: Lightning 4, Panthers 2.

Panthers vs Lightning: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Tampa Bay ML (-125)

Tip 2: Over 5.5 goals (-118)

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

Know More

Wayne Gretzky’s wife Janet responds to critics questioning his loyalty to Canada, Bobby Orr's support following 4 Nations drama

Edited by Cole Shelton