The Tampa Bay Lightning at the Prudential Center in Game 4 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. GOLF, RSN, TVA2 and MSG+ will broadcast the action, which gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 18.
Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils Odds
Tampa Bay (+135) is currently the underdog to Tampa Bay (-155) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-125 to bet the over, +105 for the under).
Tampa Bay is 56-29 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 8.6 units this season. Through 85 regular season matches, 52 of its games have gone over the total, while 31 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Lightning team is 25-17 SU on the road.
The Lightning’ offensive attack attempted 32.6 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.6 goals per contest (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the team is attempting an average of 31.0 shots on goal ( 4.0 goals per game).
After sporting the third-best power-play unit in the regular season (finding net on 25.0 percent of all opportunities), the Lightning have connected on 55.6 percent of their extra-man advantages in the early stages of this postseason.
With a .920 save percentage and 29.6 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (46-22-3) has been the top option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. If it decides to rest him, however, head coach Jon Cooper may turn to Louis Domingue (7-12-1 record, .894 save percentage, 3.41 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both look to continue their strong seasons for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov has 106 points on 41 goals and 65 assists, and has recorded two or more points 32 times. Stamkos has 28 goals and 62 assists to his name, and has registered a point in 54 games.
On the other side of the rink, New Jersey is 45-40 straight up (SU) and has earned 12.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 85 regular season contests, 45 of its games have gone over the total, while 38 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 24-18 SU as the home team this year.
The Devils have converted on just 21.2 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.5 percent of all penalties.
Devils skaters have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 4.8 per game over their last five outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 17.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Keith Kinkaid (26.6 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Devils. Kinkaid has 26 wins, 17 losses, and three overtime losses to his name and has recorded a pedestrian 2.89 goals against average and a subpar .909 save percentage this season.
The Devils offense will be led by Taylor Hall (41 goals, 57 assists).
Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- A majority (58.9 percent) of Tampa Bay’s wins have come by two or more goals, and the team is 33-18 overall in such games. 20 of New Jersey’s wins (44.4 percent) have been decided by two or more goals.
- Penalties and power plays could be even more critical than usual in tonight’s matchup. The Lightning are 26-15 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 31-18 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Devils are 14-22 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 25-30 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- New Jersey is 5-4 in games decided by a shootout this season while Tampa Bay is 6-2 in shootouts.
- The over has hit in four of New Jersey’s last five outings.
- New Jersey has averaged 9.0 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 7.9 giveaways per game (ranked 7th in the NHL).
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 9.0 giveaways over its last five home games, its season average of 8.4 giveaways per game (ranked ninth in the NHL).
