Florida vs Tampa Bay: NHL preview and betting tips

Florida vs Tampa Bay could determine the next team advancing to the quarterfinals of this year’s NHL playoffs. The Panthers hold another matchup, this time on home ice. The visitors would like to bring the series back to their own stadium. The game will be played on Tuesday, April 30 at 1:00. The game will be broadcast live on Nova Sport 1.

Where to watch Florida vs Tampa Bay?

Game 5 of the tightly contested series will be played at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday, April 30 at 1:00 p.m. Fans of the best hockey league in the world can watch the live broadcast on Nova Sport 1.

Florida would like to end the series

The opening games of the series ended 3-2. The first time it was in regulation time, the second time the game went to overtime. Game 4 of the series was not a good one for the Panthers in Tampa, the home team was in full flight and the visitors had a hard time getting into opportunities. This time, however, the team will be driven by its own spectators and Florida could become the 2nd team to advance to the quarterfinals after the Rangers.

The Panthers are led offensively by Matthew Tkachuk, the 26-year-old American has 7 points and leads the team’s scoring chart. Tkachuk, Lundell and Verhaeghe are the biggest problems for the Lightnings. Moreover, the team can really rely on Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been grating the nerves of Tampa’s shooters with his great saves, especially in Game 3. Although it didn’t work out in Game 4, he gave a great performance here as well.

Tampa hasn’t been able to take on Florida lately

Not only is Tampa not doing well on Florida’s ice, but against the Panthers they are not doing well overall. The team around Stamkos has won only 4 of the last 10 games. They have to overcome their own bad record to think about advancing, which is not often seen in a 0:3 series for the opponent. However, the Lightnings found a recipe in the last game, when they took on their opponent actively with aggressive attacking. A similar style of hockey could apply to the home team this time as well, but Tampa will not be driven by their own crowd.

If we look for the key figures of the team, nothing has changed over the last few years. Tampa is still led by the trio of Victor Hedman, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. All of the aforementioned players have already recorded 6 points in this year’s playoffs and it is only because of them that their team is still in the game.

Florida vs Tampa Bay odds

The bookmaker lists the following odds for the game. The odds on Florida at home are 1.94, on a draw 3.94 and on Tampa Bay 3.43.

Betting tip – Over 5.5

In 4 out of the last 6 games between the two teams, viewers could see at least 6 goals, and it could be similar this time as well. Although Tampa managed to win the last game, Florida’s home record speaks for itself and they should go for the promotion in this game. The Swedish defenseman has scored in the last 2 games and would certainly like to extend his streak.