On April 21, the first game of the Stanley Cup Round of 16 will be played between Florida and Tampa Bay. The meeting starts at 19:30 Moscow time. Bookmakers give preference to the hosts in their predictions: you can bet on the Panthers to win in regulation time at odds of 2.00. Experts estimate the success of the Lightning at 3:30 p.m.
Odds of bookmakers for the NHL playoff match “Florida” – “Tampa Bay” on April 21, 2024
Bookmakers believe that the first game of the NHL playoffs between Florida and Tampa Bay will be productive: a total of more than 5.5 goals is equal to 1.82 and a total of less than 5.5 goals is equal to 2 .00. A tie after 60 minutes is available for 4.00. You can bet that both will score from minute 1 to 30 in the bookmakers with odds of 1.58.
Analysis and forecast for the first match of the Florida – Tampa Bay series (04/21/2024)
The first round of the playoffs begins in the National Hockey League. On April 21, four games in the round of 16 of the Stanley Cup will be played. In one of them, at the Amerant Bank Arena in the city of Sunrise, the locals from Florida and Tampa Bay will compete. The first confrontation will take place at 19:30 Moscow time.
Last season, Florida managed to reach the Stanley Cup Final. During that tournament, Sergei Bobrovsky got into such good shape that it is difficult to put it into words. The Russian goalkeeper took the “dead” pucks, thereby inspiring the team.
This season, the Panthers’ goaltending team is no less impressive. In 82 regular season games, they only lost 200 goals; only Winnipeg has fewer, and even one. Bobrovsky played 58 games, in which he averaged 91.5% shots per game with a reliability coefficient of 2.37.
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Sergei approaches the start of the NHL playoffs in excellent tone. He kept a clean sheet in two of the last four games. The goaltender finished the regular season with six shutouts. Nobody else has it. The Russian’s experience should play an important role in the series against Tampa Bay. He has already played 700 games in the NHL.
Not only is it very difficult to score against Florida, but you also have to work hard not to let them down. The Panthers’ offense is terrifying. Sam Rinehart, Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksandr Barkov are names of these skilled forwards who are very familiar to those who followed the team’s performance in the NHL playoffs last year.
The forwards dragged Florida to the final of the last Stanley Cup along with Bobrovsky. In the latter part of the current season, Vladimir Tarasenko provided them with excellent help. He improved a lot after the trade from Ottawa. In the last 12 games he scored four goals and gave six assists.
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Tampa Bay will have to work hard to beat the Panthers. However, in the fight for the Stanley Cup there are no weak rivals. And it was no coincidence that the Lightning got a ticket to the playoffs. The fact that they finished fourth in the Atlantic Division standings shouldn’t be a big deal.
The experienced John Cooper’s team had a bad start to the season due to injuries. Andrei Vasilevsky missed a lot due to injury and surgery. If the team hadn’t lost so many points early on without their main goalkeeper, they probably would have finished the regular season in a better position.
Throughout the season, Nikita Kucherov did something amazing. He finished the regular season as the NHL’s leading scorer. In 81 games, the Russian forward scored 144 (44+100) points. If his teammates were less likely to miss the opportunities he created to excel, his performance would generally be through the roof.
It is impossible to adapt to Kucherov’s phenomenal passing. He gives the feeling that he is capable of creating a scoring chance in any situation, even one in which he seems desperate. No modern hockey player has a vision for the game and a sense of teammates like his.
How can a team disappoint its leader in his best season? As part of the Lightning under the leadership of Cooper, the Russian has already won the Stanley Cup twice. He has the mentality and character of a champion.
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More recently, Tampa Bay has bolstered its quality by signing Matt Dumba and Anthony Duclair. The new recruits quickly got used to it and began to reap enormous benefits. The Lightning’s already excellent performance has improved further and Vasilevsky’s work has decreased slightly.
Be that as it may, the best option to bet seems to be 5.5 goals for an odds of 1.82. Four of the last five head-to-heads ended this way. Another team scored five goals between them.
Clubs have very reliable goalkeepers, but their offensive power still prevails over their defensive strength. In 82 regular season games, the Lightning scored 291 goals and lost, despite Vasilevsky’s efforts, 268.
The Panthers scored 268 goals during that period. Paul Maurice shared his opinion that the “Lightning” series will be amazing. The coach believes that if seven games continue and the decisive game goes to extra time, there will be an unreal fight. Well, we hope and pray that it will be so.
Predictions and bets for the NHL playoff game “Florida” – “Tampa Bay” on April 21, 2024
The series will be very bright and spectacular. The teams have a lot of experience playing in the playoffs and have very skilled hockey players on their roster. Strikers are so technical that even the most reliable goalkeepers have a hard time. The history of the last five direct confrontations confirms this.
Tender: total more than 5.5 goals with a quota of 1.82.
