Amalie Arena will play host to an East-West clash as the Edmonton Oilers visit Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning. It’s the final time that these two clubs will meet in the regular season. The opening face-off is at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 18, and it will be broadcasted live on Fox Sports Sun.
Edmonton Oilers at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Netting 11.4 units for moneyline bettors, Tampa Bay is 48-23 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 42-40 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Through 71 regular season contests, 45 of the teams games have gone over the total, while 24 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team is 25-10 SU at home this year.
The Lightning have been able to convert on 24.1 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s good enough for fourth-best in the league. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 76.3 percent of all penalties.
As a team, the Lightning have been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, 3.6 per game over their past five contests total, and 3.6 per game over their last five at home. The teams had to kill penalties for 9.0 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
With a .922 save percentage and 29.5 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (40-18-3) has been the top goalkeeper for Tampa Bay this season. Vasilevskiy did just play yesterday, however, so Tampa Bay could decide to give him a breather and go with Louis Domingue instead (5-10-10 record, .884 save percentage, 3.67 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both be focal points for the Lightning. Kucherov (91 points) has tallied 34 goals and 57 assists and has recorded two or more points on 29 separate occasions this year. Stamkos has 27 goals and 55 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 49 contests.
On the other side of the rink, Edmonton is 31-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 17.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 71 regular season contests, 34 of its games have gone under the total, while 33 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Oilers are 15-20 SU as the away team this season.
The Oilers have converted on just 14.8 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s ranked 32nd in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 29th overall and it’s successfully killed off 75.3 percent of all penalties.
Edmonton’s players have been penalized 3.7 times per game this season, 4.0 per game over their last five contests total, and 4.2 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties 8.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cam Talbot (27.7 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Edmonton. Talbot has 27 wins, 30 losses, and two OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .908 save percentage and 2.98 goals against average this year.
Connor McDavid (34 goals, 55 assists) has been one of the top offensive facilitators for the visiting Oilers.
Edmonton Oilers at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Four of Tampa Bay’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 4-0 in those games and 6-2 overall in shootouts this season.
- The total has gone over in four of Tampa Bay’s last five games.
- Edmonton has managed 31.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Tampa Bay is averaging 36.2 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Edmonton skaters have dished out the leagues second-most hits per game (27.0), but the teams averaged just 21.2 hits over their last five away games.
