The Florida Panthers finally begin defending their first championship when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The “Battle of Florida” is the last of the eight first-round matchups to get underway as the Lightning and 2024 champions Panthers meet in the postseason for the fourth time in five years – and third time in the opening round. Tampa Bay won the first two playoff meetings between the intrastate rivals before losing in five games in the first round last postseason.
Three other series resume Tuesday, with the home teams looking to take 2-0 leads. The Carolina Hurricanes host the New Jersey Devils after posting a 4-1 victory in the opener, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue the “Battle of Ontario” against the visiting Ottawa Senators following a 6-2 rout in Game 1 and the Vegas Golden Knights attempt to build off a 4-2 triumph when they welcome the Minnesota Wild to “Sin City.”
Logan Stankoven made his playoff debut with Carolina a memorable one as he recorded two goals – including the winner – against New Jersey Sunday. The series opener between the Golden Knights and Wild featured a pair of multi-goal scorers, as Matt Boldy netted both tallies for Minnesota and Brett Howden converted twice for Vegas. Meanwhile, six different players scored for the Maple Leafs in their win – including William Nylander, who finished second in the NHL during the regular season with a career-high 45 goals.
After three of Monday’s four best bets connected for a goal, here are some players with value to consider when making prop bets for an anytime goal scorer Tuesday.
Best bets
Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs (+125, FanDuel)
The three-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner had a down season – by his standards – in 2024-25, finishing with 33 goals after leading the NHL with a career-high 69 the previous campaign. Injuries were part of the reason, limiting Matthews to 67 games. But the 27-year-old ended the regular season with a three-game scoring streak and notched a pair of assists against the Senators in Game 1. Matthews, who has netted 25 tallies in 35 regular-season contests versus Ottawa, watched six of his teammates find the back of the net Sunday and is ready to get in on the fun himself.
Sam Reinhart, Panthers (+210, FanDuel)
Reinhart also declined in the goal-scoring department this season following an amazing 2023-24, netting 39 after converting a career-best 57 times last campaign. The 29-year-old scored twice in three regular-season meetings against the Lightning after recording three goals in Florida’s five-game triumph over Tampa Bay in the first round last postseason. Reinhart has 22 goals in 43 career contests against the Lightning, including playoffs, and 21 in 55 overall postseason games.
Nikita Kucherov, Lightning (+175, bet365)
There are many scoring threats on Tampa Bay’s roster, and it’s possible any number of them will produce a goal Tuesday. One is likely to be Kucherov, who has netted at least 30 goals in eight of the last nine seasons. The 31-year-old Russian right wing recorded three goals over his final three regular-season contests and had two in four meetings with the Panthers in 2024-25. Kucherov has scored 21 times in 38 career regular-season games and five times in 15 playoff contests against Florida. He enters this series with a 10-game postseason scoring drought and will be eager to help the Lightning avenge last year’s series loss.
Brandon Saad, Golden Knights (+330, DraftKings)
Saad finished with just 13 goals over 72 games this season, his lowest total since he had 10 in 46 contests with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. However, the 32-year-old left wing netted six tallies in 29 games with the Golden Knights, who signed him after he was released in late January by the St. Louis Blues – for whom he converted only seven times in 43 contests. A two-time Stanley Cup champion with Chicago, Saad struggled down the stretch before ending a 15-game drought on Apr. 15 against the Calgary Flames in his final regular-season contest. He didn’t score in Game 1 against the Wild but notched an assist and was one of most dangerous forwards on the ice for either team. Seeing Saad score his first playoff goal since 2022 in Game 2 would not be a surprise.
