The Tampa Bay Lightning will open the second half on the road, a place that hasn’t been too kind to them lately, when they take on the Florida Panthers Monday.
The Lightning have won a franchise record 12 straight games at home, but they are just 5-6 in their last 11 games on the road and every one of the losses has been ugly.
Tampa Bay has given up 31 goals in those six road losses, including six in 21 chances on the penalty kill, and will face the top teams from the Western Conference on the road in the next 10 days. The Lightning permitted seven goals in the five road wins.
The Panthers have to be hoping that a recent win over the Boston Bruins and the break for the All-Star game acts as a springboard to a stronger second half of the season.
Florida hasn’t been able to put together winning streaks like they did last season, when it had six covering four or more games, including two of eight and 13 games.
The Panthers played six games at home during the month of January, going 4-2 and scoring four goals per game. An average of 7.5 goals were scored in those games.
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Point, Kucherov Driving Home streak
Nikita Kucherov has the most points during the home win streak, but no one has been putting the puck in the net like Brayden Point, who has racked up 12 goals.
The seven-year veteran and former third-round draft pick, who has an outside chance of notching his first 50-goal campaign, got off to a slow start this season with 10 goals in his first 22 games, but has scored 19 times in the last 26 contests.
Point has scored a team-high six goals to open the scoring for the Lightning, including one in the record-clinching 5-2 win over the Kings Jan. 28.
Kucherov, meanwhile, has a 15-game home point streak dating back to Nov. 25, one shy of the of the franchise mark. He has eight multi-point games over that span.
Barkov On Fire for Panthers
Aleksander Barkov netted the game-tying goal against the Bruins with three seconds left in regulation and then assisted on the game-winner in overtime, giving him 600 career points, the second player in Panthers history to reach that milestone.
Barkov, who is the ninth Finnish player to reach 600 points, and All-Star Game MVP Matthew Tkachuk have carried the Panthers, but they will need others to step up if they are to bridge the gap to the playoffs, which currently sits at three points.
“Just his presence out there is something everyone feeds off of,” teammate Sam Reinhart, who scored the game-winner against the Bruins, told the media. “A massive one with a second left. When we need someone to step up, he’s there to do it.”
Barkov has registered five goals and 17 points during his career-best 11-game point streak, which is tied with Pavel Bure for the fifth longest in Panthers’ history.
Lightning vs Panthers Game Injuries
Lightning vs Panthers Head-to-Head
The Lightning have claimed seven straight wins against the Panthers, including a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.
Tampa Bay moved ahead 77-75-10 in the series, including 32-44-4 on the road.
Lightning vs Panthers Information
- Game: Lightning (32-15-1) vs Panthers (24-22-6)
- Location: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise, FL
- Day/Time: Monday, Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Lightning vs Panthers Live Stream: NHL TV
Lightning vs Panthers Betting Lines
Lightning vs Panthers Picks and Prediction
The Lightning, who are a tepid favorite at -125 on the NHL lines, have covered the puck line in six of the last seven games vs. the Panthers. .
The last six contests between Tampa Bay and Florida finished under the total goals, but the last seven Panthers games have gone over 6½ goals.
Tampa Bay is listed at -125 in our Las Vegas NHL odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Lightning, you have a chance to win $80. Florida is +105, offering a chance to win $105 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Tampa Bay a 55.56% chance to win, with the Panthers 48.78%.