Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper speaks to reporters after morning skate on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024 Sunday is usually a down day for the NHL where they don't schedule many games as they don't want to compete with some of the other sports. This Sunday, we get a rarity as the NHL rolls out five exciting matchups that should excite all hockey and general sports fans. The Florida Panthers aim to look better than the Carolina Panthers when taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning as they reignite the Battle of Florida. The night caps off with a matchup between two of Canada's hottest teams in the Senators and Oilers. It'll be a great slate that we can look to profit from and build off several of our impressive records like our 32-24 record on game total and team unders this season. All betting lines are from Bet365 and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly. Bet: Panthers Lightning Over 6.5 goals (-105), Lightning ML (-105), Jake Guentzel anytime goal (+160) It's hard to go against one of the hottest duos in the NHL right now with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Tampa's top point producers have been red hot with Point recording seven goals and 14 points over his last seven games while Kucherov has dished for seven assists and nine points in his last five games. The Panthers have started to find their defensive rhyme with two goals allowed over their last two games which proved to be an improvement over the 12 goals they allowed in the three games prior. These two teams have totalled seven or more goals in six of their last ten matchups, including three straight matchups heading into Sunday. Florida should stay within reach thanks to Matthew Tkachuk, who is even hotter than Tampa's top guys with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in his last ten games. Both teams couldn't be hotter with the Panthers coming off three wins in a row and the Lightning coming off four. The Panthers hold the historical advantage with wins in eight of their ten matchups but the Bolts are putting up better numbers with the best offence in the league with a 4.00 goals per game average and a top ten defence. The Cats are tied for fourth in goals per game with a 3.53 average but have struggled defensively with a 3.12 goals against average this season. Tampa Bay should defend their home ice and edge out a tight win. Forward Jake Guentzel has cashed in with Kucherov and Point on his line as he's scored in seven of his last eight games with nine total goals. He should find his way back onto the score sheet in what should be a very high-scoring game.
