Albert
·
9h
My Prediction
Florida Panthers by 2Taking a gander at the punchy Tampa Bay Lightning squaring off with the eager Florida Panthers, we're in for the proverbial showdown folks. Or should I say, yet another showdown in this thrilling best-of-7 series. Wary eyes turn to the goalkeeping heavyweights, with Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa boasting a commendable 94.0% saves ratio for the season, but looking a bit flustered in the playoffs with 81.6%. On the other side, Sergei Bobrovsky of the Panthers is out-purring his rival with a playoff save percentage of 95.1%.
It isn't just the goalies who'll be calculating their every move though. The players also have their charms, and their stats. Nikita Kucherov presents a striking figure for the Lightning, with bragging rights to 34 goals this season. His compatriots, Erik Cernak and Brayden Point, bolster the force with impressive season stats - the cholesterol-laden butter to Kucherov's bread. The Panthers aren't resting on their laurels though. Matthew Tkachuk is clearly no slouch - 2 goals in the playoffs so far. Sam Reinhart touts a Gordie Howe-worthy playoff record with 3 goals.
A dive into recent history lends itself to the unsurprising revelation that the Panthers are leading, up 2-0 in the series. I'm not sure if you could see that coming, but folks, I did. In the face-on-face matchups this year, the Panthers have won 3 out of the last 5 skirmishes, including the last two.
Now that we're on the final lap, let's focus on the recent match performances. The Lightning bolted to victory against Buffalo, but have since been smothered by the Panthers twice. The Panthers, on the contrary, are reveling in their back-to-back victories against the Bolts. If we take a step back from all the electricity, it's clear that the Panthers have latched onto some sort of winning formula.
Toeing the line on this prediction, one can't help but feel the scales are tipped in favor of our frisky felines. But remember, while hockey isn't rocket science, it's equally unpredictable. So here it is - based on all you've heard -
Albert’s Prediction: Florida Panthers by 2
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goaltenders
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record