The Tampa Bay Lightning at the Prudential Center in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. This one will get going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, April 16 and it can be caught live on CNBC, RSN, TVA2 and MSG+.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils Odds
Tampa Bay (+120) is entering this one as the underdog to Tampa Bay (-140), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Tampa Bay is 56-28 straight up (SU) and has earned 10.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. 51 of its matches have gone over the total, while 31 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Lightning team is 25-16 SU on the road.
After producing the third-best power-play unit in the regular season (scoring on 24.7 percent of all opportunities), the Lightning have been able to score on 75.0 percent of their power plays in the early stages of these playoffs.
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, however, the club is down to an average of 28.5 shots on goal yet up to 5.0 goals per game.
With a .920 save percentage and 29.5 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (46-21-3) has been the best option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. If it chooses to rest him, however, the team might turn to Louis Domingue (7-12-1), who has a .894 save percentage and 3.41 goals against average this year.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov has 104 points on 41 goals and 63 assists, and has recorded two or more points 31 times. Stamkos has 27 goals and 61 assists to his credit (and has logged at least one point in 53 games).
On the other side of the rink, New Jersey is 44-40 straight up (SU) and has earned 10.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. 44 of its contests have gone over the total, while 38 have gone under and just two have pushed. This year, the team is 23-18 SU at home.
The Devils have converted on just 21.4 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.9 percent of all penalties.
New Jersey skaters have been called for penalties 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 6.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Keith Kinkaid (26.6 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for the Devils. Kinkaid has 26 wins, 17 losses, and three OT losses to his name and has maintained a fairly-weak .909 save percentage and 2.89 goals against average this season.
Taylor Hall (40 goals, 55 assists) will pace the offensive counter for the Devils.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- 43.2 percent of New Jersey’s wins have come by two or more goals (the team is 19-23 overall in such games) while 58.9 percent of Tampa Bay’s wins have come by two goals or more (33-17 overall in games decided by at least two goals).
- The extra-man advantage may prove to be even more key than usual in tonight’s game. The Lightning are 26-15 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 31-18 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Devils are 13-22 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 25-30 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Tampa Bay is 6-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while New Jersey is 5-4 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in four of New Jersey’s last five outings.
- New Jersey has averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, its season average of 7.9 giveaways per game (ranked 7th overall).
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 10.0 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.4 giveaways per game (the ninth-fewest in the league).
