Panthers lineup tonight: Florida’s projected lineup for Game 5 against the Tampa Bay Lightning | Stanley Cup Playoffs, Round 1, April 30, 2025

The Florida Panthers will look to close out their first-round series on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road.

After going down early in Game 4 on Monday, the reigning Stanley Cup champions rallied in the third period, picking up a 4-2 win to go up 3-1 in this first-round series.

The Panthers are aiming to book a second-round matchup against the winner of the Toronto Maple Leafs-Ottawa Senators series, where the Leafs are up 3-2 after a 4-0 shutout win in Ottawa on Tuesday.

While the Panthers are looking to go back-to-back as Stanley Cup champions, the Lightning will look to defend their home ice and send the series back to Amerant Bank Arena for Game 6 on Friday.

Florida Panthers projected lines

Note: Lines subject to change

Forwards

1. Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
2. Evan Rodrigues - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
3. Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Brad Marchand
4. AJ Greer - Nico Sturm - Jesper Boqvist

Defense

1. Gustav Forsling - Seth Jones
2. Niko Mikkola - Dmitry Kulikov
3. Uvis Balinskis - Nate Schmidt

Goalies

1. Sergei Bobrovsky
2. Vitek Vanecek

Powerplay

1. Matthew Tkachuk, Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe, Seth Jones
2. Evan Rodrigues, Sam Bennett, Brad Marchand, Gustav Forsling, Nate Schmidt

Penalty kill

1. Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Gustav Forsling, Seth Jones
2. Nico Sturm, Jesper Boqvist, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov

Odds Panthers-Lightning Game 5 as Stanley Cup champs look to close things out on the road

Heading into what could be a closeout game for the Panthers on Wednesday, bettors are split about how things will play out.

On FanDuel, Tampa Bay has -114 odds, while Florida has -105 odds to win. On DraftKings, the Lightning have -112 odds and the Panthers are -108 odds.

It would take a $112 bet on Tampa Bay to win $100 on DraftKings. Meanwhile, a $108 bet on Florida would net $100.

With a chance to advance to the second round and an opportunity to get a few days of rest, the Panthers will look to find the back of the net early in what's expected to be an exciting matchup.