The second round of the NHL playoffs is here and every night gets more and more exciting. During round one, we saw five game 7’s and plenty of overtime games. The NHL playoffs have not disappointed so far and I expect that to continue as we make our way closer to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Let’s get into our NHL Best Bet for May 19th.

NHL Best Bet

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Florida Panthers

The Lightning and Panthers have played each other pretty tight all season long. The in-state rivals split the regular-season series and always play in close games.

The Florida Panthers are the second-best team in the NHL this season only behind the Colorado Avalanche. The Panthers won the Atlantic Division by a pretty wide margin and have played very well on home ice. They were 34-7 at FLA Live Arena and averaged 4.7 GF at home. Also, their power play was 28.3% on home ice which is 8% better than on the road.

Sergei Bobrovsky is slated to start in net tonight for the Panthers. He was 26-3 at home with a 2.57 GAA and .918 SV%. These are both significantly better than his stats in away arenas.

Andrei Vasilevskiy also performs worse on the road. At home, Vasilevskiy posts a 2.23 GAA and .921 SV%. On the road, he has a 2.77 GAA and .912 SV%.

Being on home ice is a massive advantage, especially in the postseason. I expect the Panthers to come out flying and play with a ton of urgency to try to get on the board first. They know if they go down 2-0 in the series heading back to Tampa Bay, their season is virtually over.

I anticipate the Panthers to win Game 2 on home ice and even up the series heading back to Tampa Bay.

The Play: Florida Panthers Money Line (-160)

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you enjoyed it, please check Belly Up Fantasy for more content, and you can follow me on Twitter.