Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning Game 3 Prediction 4/25/2024

The Florida Panthers will go head-to-head against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference playoff series on April 25, 2024, at 7:00 pm ET. DraftKings Sportsbook's initial moneyline odds favor the Tampa Bay Lightning at -118, with the Florida Panthers considered slight underdogs at -102. The early betting trends show 64% of moneyline bets on the Lightning and 36% on the Panthers. Additionally, the over has received 88% of bets for the opening total of 6.0, with only 12% of bets predicting the game will stay under the set total.

Going into Panthers vs Lightning Game 3, the Florida Panthers hold a 2-0 series lead, having won the first two games of this series on their home ice. That was to be expected, both because of how well Florida has played all season and how bad the Lightning were on the road for most of the year. But now that this series has shifted to Tampa for the first time, we should see the Lightning get on the board and avoid going down by three games to their in-state rivals.

This season, the Lightning have gone 25-11-5 at home on the year, putting them nine games above .500 on their home rink. While Florida has been a dangerous road team, the combination of Tampa's ability to win games at home and their desperation going into this game makes them an attractive play at what is basically a pick 'em price on Thursday night.

Tampa also has to feel confident with how they played on the road to start this series, even if they find themselves in an 0-2 hole. Both games to open this series were 3-2 games in favor of the Panthers, with the second game being decided in overtime. Keeping things that close on the road should mean good things now that the Lightning are the home team for the next two games of this series.

Check out all our free picks on every NHL game daily in our NHL betting section.