- What: NHL Regular Season Game
- When: March 3, 2025
- Who: Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers
- Time: 4:00 p.m. PST
- Where: Amerant Bank Arena (Sunrise, FL)
The Florida Panthers will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exciting intrastate matchup this evening.
Florida has triumphed in six of the last eight encounters between the two teams. As the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Lightning are showing signs of being capable of capturing the trophy once more.
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay clinched a crucial 3-1 victory over the Washington Capitals, with goals from Mitchell Chaffee, Gage Conclaves, and Brandon Hagel, who also led the team with four shots on goal. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves, contributing to the win.
With Steven Stamkos gone in the offseason, Nikita Kucherov has taken the lead, boasting 50 points and a team-high 35 assists. Brayden Point tops the scoring with 22 goals, while Anthony Cirelli leads in plus/minus at +18.
Matchup down south ⚡️
????: @FDSN_Lightning
????: @BoltsRadio & @1025TheBone
????: https://t.co/L2ksUQERqj#GoBolts | #TBLvsFLA pic.twitter.com/KVF1yI0HuW— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 3, 2025
Hagel ties for the most penalty minutes (28) and logs the highest ice time for forwards at 21:08. The team ranks first in goals per game (3.94) and third on the power play (27.1%).
Vasilevskiy has a 2.41 GAA and 91.1% save percentage this season. Victor Hedman leads defensemen with 28 points and has the most ice time (23:19).
The defense ranks 12th in shots against (28.1) and 8th in goals against per game (2.78). The Lightning are at full strength heading into their next game.
Florida
Florida secured a 3-0 win against the Calgary Flames, with Evan Rodrigues scoring a goal and providing an assist, while Sam Bennett added two assists. Both players had five shots on goal, and Sergei Bobrovsky completed the shutout with 23 saves.
Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers in points with 59, including 31 goals, and has the best +/- among forwards at +12. A.J. Greer has the most penalty minutes with 78, while Reinhart averages 20:16 in ice time.
Matthew Tkachuk follows closely with nine power-play goals, and Barkov leads in assists (35) and power-play assists (12). The Panthers rank 7th in the league with 3.28 goals per game and 3rd in shots per game at 31.6, but they struggle in face-offs, winning only 49.2%.
It’s Vamos Gatos Night at @AmerantArena! ????#TimeToHunt pic.twitter.com/HiyN3jGlhE
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 3, 2025
On defense, Gustav Forsling leads with a +26 rating and seven goals, while Aaron Ekblad has the most assists (22) and ice time (23:21). Florida is 11th in shots allowed (27.4 per game), 15th in penalty kill percentage (79.5%), and 14th in goals against (2.89).
Bobrovsky has a 2.67 GAA and a 90.2% save percentage. Matthew Tkachuk is the only player currently injured dealing with a groin issue.
Lightning-Panthers Best Bet
Since January 1, Andrei Vasilevskiy has been at the top of the league with a save percentage of .935, while Sergei Bobrovsky ranks fifth at .918.
In their last 25 games, both goalies have given up an average of only 2.34 goals per 60 minutes, placing them second in the NHL, just behind the Winnipeg Jets.
Additionally, considering they are both in the lower half of the league in shooting percentage during this period, it sets the stage for a low-scoring matchup tonight.
Take the under in this one.
Best Bet: Under 5.5 goals at +100 odds
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
