Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers Pick & Prediction – 12/27/2025

The Florida Panthers will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in an in-state rivalry matchup from Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday night. Both teams are playing well of late, with the Lightning winning two straight games and the Panthers winning four of their last five. Before the puck is dropped in the Sunshine State, you will find my Lightning vs Panthers prediction right here.

Our Lightning vs Panthers Pick

Game Snapshot

• Matchup: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Florida Panthers
• Date & Time: Saturday, December 27, 2025, 7:00 PM
• Venue: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
• Broadcast: ESPN+

Key Storylines

Recent form

Florida arrives enjoying a strong stretch, having won eight of its last ten games and most recently posting a 5-2 comeback victory over the Carolina Hurricanes with Sam Reinhart dishing three assists in that effort. Sergei Bobrovsky earned his 16th win of the season in that outing and has been a backbone for the Panthers.

Tampa Bay is coming off a solid 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues, paced by three points from Darren Raddysh and consistent goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, the Lightning’s recent form sits closer to even with a roughly .500 record over the last ten contests, making consistency a question in this spot.

Goaltending

Sergei Bobrovsky’s veteran presence between the pipes continues to be a stabilizing force for Florida. He’s tied for the league lead in wins and has Florida comfortable relying on his experience late in games. Vasilevskiy remains Tampa Bay’s anchor in net, posting a 2.32 GAA and a .915 save percentage for the season.

Key skaters

Florida’s attack is highlighted by winger Brad Marchand, who leads the Panthers in both goals and assists and enters tonight with a multi-game point streak. Sam Reinhart’s recent playmaking and scoring further solidify Florida’s forward depth. On the Tampa side, Nikita Kucherov remains Tampa Bay’s offensive leader, racking up 45 points this year. Jake Guentzel has heated up as of late with a strong points streak as well. Tampa will need contributions from its top line to keep pace with Florida’s scoring depth.

Best Player Props

Betting Trends & H2H

• These teams are 1-1 against each other so far this season.
• The road team is 2-0 in games between the Lightning and Panthers this year.
• The Lightning are 16-20 on the puckline this season.
• Florida is just 12-24 on the puckling going into this matchup.

Lightning vs Panthers Model Projection

Final Thoughts

Jay Sanin

Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.