Amalie Arena plays host to an enticing matchup as the Tampa Bay Lightning take the ice against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. The action gets going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 27, and fans at home are able to catch this Eastern Conference matchup live on NBC Sports Network.
Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay (-215) is tabbed as the favorite over Philadelphia (+180) and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals. If bettors want to play the matchup’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -115 money on the over and -105 on the under.
The Lightning are 28-9 straight up (SU) and have earned 12.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 54-28 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Through 37 regular season outings, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 15-4 SU at home this year.
Tampa Bay enters the matchup with the best power-play unit in the NHL, as the team has scored on 28.9 percent of their extra-man opportunities this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated ninth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all penalties.
Tampa Bay, as a collective unit, has been called for penalties 3.9 times per game overall this season, and 5.2 per game over its past five contests. The team has been forced to kill penalties for a whopping 15.2 minutes per game over its last five matchups, overall.
Boasting a .904 save percentage and 28.4 saves per game, Louis Domingue (15 wins, four losses) has been the top goalkeeper for the Lightning this year. If they decide to rest him, however, head coach Jon Cooper might turn to Andrei Vasilevskiy (12-5-5 record, .928 save percentage, 2.39 goals against average).
The Bolts will continue relying on leadership from Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Kucherov (57 points) has put up 16 goals and 41 assists and has recorded multiple points on 16 different occasions this year. Point has 21 goals and 26 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 24 contests.
Philadelphia has lost 7.8 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year and is currently 15-20 straight up (SU). Through 35 regular season outings, 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 15 have gone under the total and none have pushed. As a road team, Philadelphia is 8-10 SU so far.
Philadelphia has converted on just 13.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 29th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 75.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
Philadelphia’s players have been called for penalties 4.2 times per game in total this season, 3.6 per game over their last five match ups total, and 3.8 per game over their last five road outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays 9.8 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Brian Elliott (2.59 goals against average and .911 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Philadelphia. Elliott is averaging 25.0 saves per game and has seven wins and seven losses to his credit.
For the visiting Flyers, the offense will be heavily coordinated by Claude Giroux, who has 30 assists and 12 goals on the year.
Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- For both of these teams, the game went over the total in four of their last five matchups.
- Power plays and penalty kills could be even more critical than usual tonight. The Flyers are 6-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 9-9 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 penalty minutes, total. The Lightning are 9-6 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 13-9 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Tampa Bay is 3-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 2-0 in shootouts.
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 6.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.2 takeaways per game (ranked 19th overall).
- Philadelphia has forced 6.8 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 5.3 takeaways per game (ranked 29th overall).
- Tampa Bay might have an advantage if it’s a close one late. The team’s 11-4 in games decided by one goal, while Philadelphia is 6-8 in such games.
