Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Game 5 preview, predictions and odds | Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1, April 30, 2025

The Florida Panthers are on the road to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, April 30, in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. The puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Florida has a 3-1 series lead after scoring two goals in 11 seconds late into the third period to get a lead and won Game 4 by a score of 4-2.

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

Florida went 2-2 against Tampa Bay this season and is 3-1 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 has a stranglehold on the series but will be without Aaron Ekblad, who got suspended for two games due to an illegal hit to the head of Brandon Hagel, which wasn't called on the ice. He ended up scoring the tying goal, as well.

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 the playoffs, he's 3-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a .902 SV%.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is in a hole and will need to win three straight to win the series, but will be without Hagel, who's hurt. The Lightning in Game 4 were led by Mitchell Chaffee and Erik Cernak, who both scored.

The Lightning will start Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has struggled in the playoffs. 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%. In the playoffs, he's 1-3 with a 2.79 GAA and a .884 SV%.

Panthers vs Lightning: Odds & Prediction

Florida is a -108 underdog while Tampa Bay is a -112 favorite, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Panthers will be without Ekblad, which is a big blow, but Tampa being without Hagel could be even worse.

The Lightning played well in Game 4 outside of the 11 seconds where Florida scored twice. At home, Tampa Bay should come out strong and get a win to keep the series alive.

Prediction: Lightning 4, Panthers 2.

Panthers vs Lightning: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Tampa Bay ML (-112)

Tip 2: Over 5.5 goals (-115)

Tip 3: Nikita Kucherov 3+ shots on goal (-145)

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.

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Edited by Cole Shelton