The Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway with seven of eight first-round series already started. The final Game 1 is tonight`s Florida derby between the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning at 8:30 PM ET. Despite home-ice advantage for the Lightning, the Panthers are slight favorites to advance at -115 on FanDuel Sportsbook, while Tampa Bay is at -104. The Panthers also have the fifth-lowest Stanley Cup odds at +900, and the Lightning are tied for seventh-lowest at +1100 with the Washington Capitals.

For Game 1, Tampa Bay is a -118 moneyline favorite (bet $118 to win $100), and Florida is a -102 underdog (bet $102 to win $100) according to the latest SportsLine consensus odds. The over/under is set at 5.5 goals, with both options at -110. You can see the model`s latest projections, along with expert picks for Blues vs. Jets, at SportsLine.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates each NHL game 10,000 times, offering top-rated prop picks for every game under the `Prop Picks` tab. These picks, rated up to five stars, can be useful for creating winning parlays on platforms such as DraftKings, FanDuel, PrizePicks, Underdog Fantasy, Sleeper Fantasy, or same-game parlays on various betting sites.

Here are SportsLine`s top three player prop picks for Tuesday`s Game 1 between the Panthers and Lightning, including the potential payout for a same-game parlay.

Panthers-Lightning SGP (+447)

  • Nikita Kucherov Under 1.5 Points (-184): 5 stars
  • Gustav Forsling Over 1.5 Shots on Goal (-190): 4 stars
  • Aleksander Barkov Under 0.5 Points (+132): 4 stars

Kucherov led the NHL in regular-season points with 121 (37 goals, 84 assists), his third-highest career total. However, he has gone under his points prop in five straight games against winning teams, averaging 0.6 points in those games. Forsling has averaged 3.0 shots per game in his last five road games, exceeding his shots on goal prop each time. Adding a plus-money leg like Barkov, who has gone under his points prop in eight of his last 10 games, increases the SGP odds.