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The Florida Panthers are one win away from eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Expected to be one of the closest series in Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Battle of Florida has been lopsided, with the Panthers taking three of the first four contests, including the first two in Tampa Bay.
It’s not a surprise that the defending champions are in position to win this series, but it is a bit of a shock to see the Lightning struggling in big moments.
Tampa Bay will need to get its act together Wednesday night or a promising season will end in bitter disappointment.
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Panthers vs. Lightning Game 5 betting preview
The Lightning are sitting at -115 for Game 5, which tells you how lukewarm the market is on Tampa Bay right now.
The Panthers closed at -150 for Game 4, so it’s clear that the bookmakers have the Cats power rated a few ticks above the Bolts.
The Florida Panthers are -1000 favorites to advance to Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Getty ImagesThat is notable because the Lightning were as trendy as any team in the Eastern Conference coming into the playoffs.
The Bolts were a juggernaut down the stretch, and plenty of pundits dubbed them the team to beat in the East, even though they were playing the defending champions in Round 1.
It seems pretty clear now that the hockey world was, somehow, sleeping on the Panthers in this series. Florida has been terrific at 5-on-5 and has held the Bolts to just one power-play goal through four games.
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The most impressive part of Florida’s resume so far in this series has been its ability to win the big moments.
The Panthers came out like gangbusters in Game 1, held on to a 1-0 lead for most of Game 2 and then turned a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead in 11 seconds during the final moments of Game 4.
These are just not the type of things you expect to see happen to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Panthers vs. Lightning Game 5 pick
Tampa Bay has fallen victim to Florida’s greatest strength. The Panthers are experts at hanging around and capitalizing on mistakes. If you play a messy game against the Cats, they will pounce.
It’s easier said than done to clean things up against the peskiest team in the NHL, but that will be the message for the Bolts.
They’ll need to tone things down and try to turn this into a chess match.
That kind of approach should help under bettors get to the window Wednesday.
The Play: Under 5.5 (-105, bet365)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
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