Nationwide Arena will be the site for an enticing matchup as the Tampa Bay Lightning square off against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This Eastern Conference matchup gets going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, February 10 and it can be watched live on NBC Sports Network.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Odds
Columbus enters the game as the narrow favorite with a -115 moneyline. The line for Tampa Bay now stands at -105 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. If gamblers want to play this matchup’s total, they’ll be looking at odds of -115 money on the over and -105 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 35-20 straight up (SU) and has earned 2.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. 28 of its matches have gone over the total, while 24 have gone under and just three have pushed. As the road team this season, the Bolts are 17-11 SU.
Tampa Bay has converted on 24.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for sixth-best in the league. Additionally, it has the fifth-best penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 84.0 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Tampa Bay has been whistled for penalties 3.9 times per game overall during the 2019-20 season, and 2.8 per game over its last five on the road. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays just 6.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .918 save percentage and 27.9 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (29-12-3) has been the best option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. If Tampa Bay chooses to rest him, however, they might go with Curtis McElhinney (6-8-2 record, .909 save percentage, 2.88 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov has 67 points on 25 goals and 42 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 20 different games. Stamkos has 26 goals and 33 assists to his nameand has registered a point in 36 games.
Over on the other bench, Columbus is 30-26 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 7.0 units this season. Through 56 regular season outings, 36 of its games have gone under the total, while 19 have gone over and just one has pushed. It’s 18-12 SU at home this season.
Columbus has converted on just 16.9 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s ranked 24th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.9 percent of all opponent power plays.
Columbus players have been sent to the penalty box only 3.1 times per game this season, and 1.8 per game over their past five outings. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 5.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Joonas Korpisalo has stopped 25.7 shots per game as the top option in goal for Columbus. Korpisalo has 17 wins, 15 losses, and five overtime losses and has registered a 2.49 goals against average and a .913 save percentage this season.
Pierre-Luc Dubois (17 goals, 25 assists) will lead the attack for the Blue Jackets.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in four of Columbus’ last five games.
- Tampa Bay has managed 26.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Columbus is averaging 36.2 shots per game over its last five at home.
- The Lightning are 13-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 23-11 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Columbus is 0-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Tampa Bay is 2-0 in shootouts.
- Columbus skaters have averaged 5.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 6.5 takeaways per game (ranked 25th overall).
- Tampa Bay has allowed 2.7 goals per game overall this season, but has gotten that figure down 1.7 per contest in their last six games (the team’s a perfect 6-0 SU during that span)
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 5.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.0 takeaways per game (ranked 18th in the league).
