Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers: Game 4 preview, predictions and odds

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on the road to play the Florida Panthers on Monday, April 28, in Game 4 of their first-round series at 7 p.m. ET.

Tampa Bay won Game 3 by a score of 5-1 to go down 2-1 in the series.

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

• Tampa Bay went 2-2 against Florida this season and is 1-2 in the playoffs
• Tampa Bay allowed 2.63 goals per game
• Florida averaged 3 goals per game
• The Lightning averaged 3.56 goals per game
• The Panthers went 27-12-2 at home
• Tampa Bay went 18-19-4 on the road
• The Panthers allowed 2.71 goals per game

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers: Preview

Tampa Bay won Game 3 on the road to get back into the series. The Lightning were led by Jake Guentzel who had a goal and two assists, Nikita Kucherov had 3 assists, while Nick Paul, Brayden Point, Anthony Cirelli, and Luke Glendening all scored. Brandon Hagel will also be back after serving his one-game suspension.

The Lightning will start who 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 1-2 with a 2.18 GAA and a .921 SV%.

Florida, meanwhile, still has control of the series, despite losing Game 3. 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 2-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a .903 SV%.

Florida was led by Matthew Tkachuk in Game 1, who scored the opening goal of the game. He also won’t face any discipline for his late hit against Jake Guentzel.

Lightning vs Panthers: Odds & Prediction

Tampa Bay is a +124 underdog while Florida is a -148 favorite, and the over/under is set at 5.5 goals.

The Lightning played great in Game 3, which was needed, but Florida will likely come back strong after the disappointing game.

This will be a close game as both goalies have played well, but look for the Panthers to get the win at home and take a stranglehold of the series.

Prediction: Panthers 3, Lightning 2.

Lightning vs Panthers: Betting Tips

Tip 1: Florida ML (-148)

Tip 2: Under 5.5 goals (-112)

Tip 3: Jake Guentzel 3+ shots on goal (+100)