The Florida Panthers will visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for a late-week tilt in the NHL at Benchmark International Arena, Being on home ice has been a true advantage for the Lightning, and recent numbers hint at a high-end goaltending edge paired with a top-line that keeps tilting games in their favor. Florida still brings finishing ability with Sam Reinhart and support from Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk, but the defensive metrics and netminder form have made the hosts the favorites. Below, you’ll find current team form, player notes, and my Panthers vs Lightning prediction on the ice.
Our Panthers vs Lightning Pick
Over 6.5 ATS PRO
Confidence: 3/5
Game Snapshot
Matchup: Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Date & Time: Thursday, February 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
Venue: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
Broadcast: ESPN+
Key Storylines
Recent form
Tampa Bay enters in strong shape, winning four straight games, including two straight overtime or shootout results.
Florida has been streaky of late, but they managed to get an overtime win in their last game against the Boston Bruins to end an extended losing streak.
Goaltending
Andrei Vasilevskiy is a top Vezina candidate again, sitting at 26 wins already with a goals-against near 2.0 and save percentage near .920, plus excellent high-danger save numbers.
Sergei Bobrovsky owns the bigger big-stage resume, but his 2025-26 regular-season has been uneven by comparison, with a goals-against average of a shade above 3.00 and a save percentage south of .900 following a tough outing earlier this week.
Key skaters
Nikita Kucherov continues to lead an elite offense with 90 points already. His power-play facilitation remains the separator in tight games for the Lightning.
Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel amplify Tampa Bay’s first unit threat, combining finishing, offensive zone retrievals, and bumper looks that create multiple paths to goals.
Sam Reinhart leads Florida with 55 points and 27 goals. Carter Verhaeghe adds secondary scoring, while Matthew Tkachuk’s net-front presence is vital on the man advantage.
Betting Trends & H2H
The Lightning are 2-1 against the Panthers so far this season.
The road team has won all three of the games between these teams this season.
Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Model Projection
Score Projection: Florida 3 – Tampa Bay 4
Win Probability: Florida 40%, Tampa Bay 60%
Final Thoughts
I give the slight advantage in this game to the Lightning, as they are on a four-game winning streak and have home-ice advantage here. But my best bet for this contest is for the over to cash at 6.5 goals. The Lightning are likely to take advantage of the porous defense of the Panthers of late, while the Lightning have had their own issues on defense, including in the Stadium Series game against the Bruins.
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