Lazarus' prediction: The Florida Panthers are one win away from advancing, and there’s no better time for Sam Bennett to keep them rolling past Tampa Bay.
NHL
The Florida Panthers are starting to look unbeatable, and the way that this team hunts pucks down on the forecheck and attacks is second to none.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning defense has struggled breaking the puck out cleanly, and I don’t see that changing tonight.
Find out why my Panthers vs. Lightning predictions and NHL picks for Game 5 on Wednesday, April 30 favor the road team.
It’s getting very hard to bet against the Panthers at this point. They’ve looked like the better team for the majority of this series and the Lightning’s offense has struggled. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, two of Tampa’s best offensive players haven’t found the back of the net yet through four games, that is a massive concern, but also a credit to how strong Florida is defensively and in goal.
As a team, the Tampa Bay Lightning are the second-lowest scoring team in the playoffs right now, averaging just 2.25 goals per game and their power play is at a 6.7% success rate, that’s horrendous. They have scored on just one of their 15 attempts in this series.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been the better of the two net-minders, skating to a .902 save percentage and a 2.01 goals against average, as well as a +1.3 goals saved above expected. Vasilevskiy currently has a .884 save percentage along with a 2.79 goals against average with a +0.8 GSAx.
At 5-on-5, the Panthers are generating the third-most high-danger chances per 60, averaging 12.93 per contest.
My Panthers vs Lightning pick: Sam Bennett Over 2.5 shots (+100 at Sports Interaction)
After putting up four points in the first three games of this series, Sam Bennett was held off of the scoresheet in Game 4, but with that said, he was still able to put up three shots on goal. In this series, he has had a minimum of three shots in three of the four games that have been played.
This season, Bennett has averaged 3.17 shots per game, and if the Florida Panthers are going to close this series out on the road, he will have a big part in that. Bennett is currently tied with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart for the team lead in points in the playoffs. He has two goals and two assists through four games.
Sam Bennett 3+ shots
Panthers moneyline
Sam Bennett to score
The Florida Panthers are simply a better hockey team than the Tampa Bay Lightning. From top to bottom, they have just beaten down Tampa in almost every area of the ice. From the goaltending, to the blue line and special teams, everything seems to be going the Panthers’ way right now. Bobrovsky has outplayed Andrei Vasilevskiy throughout the series, and the Panthers have crushed in the special teams battle.
Sam Bennett has been one of the most effective and impactful players for the Panthers all year long, and with a chance to close out this series, he’s a guy that they will look to for a big-time play. He’s on a line with Matthew Tkachuk, who also has four points in this series as well as Evan Rodrigues. Those three should be able to connect for a goal.
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Odds courtesy of Sports Interaction
Sam Bennett has had a minumum of three shots on goal in three of the four games in the series. Find more NHL betting trends for Panthers vs. Lightning.
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Jonny Lazarus has loved hockey for as long as he can remember. After his Division I playing career at UMass-Amherst and Mercyhurst University came to an end in 2020, he transitioned from being a player to working in the media. He might be young in his career, but he has made appearances in numerous places like the NHL, Bleacher Report, as well as The Action Network, and this season he will be doing color commentary for a selection of UMass-Amherst hockey games.
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