Two teams on winning streaks, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Arizona Coyotes clash at Gila River Arena for an East-West showdown. The puck drops at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 27, and you’ll be able to catch it live on Fox Sports Arizona.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Arizona Coyotes Odds
Tampa Bay is 7-2 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 1.6 units this season. That SU winning percentage, ranked second in the NHL so far this season, is an improvement compared to how the team performed during last year’s regular season (54-28). Five of its contests have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. The Bolts are 3-1 SU on the road in 2018-19.
Tampa Bay has found the net on 27.3 percent of its power play opportunities so far. That’s a good improvement from last year, when it was ranked fourth in the NHL by scoring on 24.8 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has also gotten stronger, as the team has gone from successfully defending 75.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 28th overall last season) to 94.6 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Tampa Bay has been penalized 4.4 times per game this season. Last year, that figure was the fifth-highest mark in the league at 4.1 penalties per game. The team served an average of 9.6 penalty minutes per game last year and is right around that same amount this season.
Averaging 29.3 saves per game with a .940 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (5-2-1) has been the best option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. Vasilevskiy played yesterday, however, so Tampa Bay could choose to rest him and turn to Louis Domingue instead (2-0 record, .934 save percentage, 2.50 goals against average).
The visiting Lightning will be led by J.T. Miller and Nikita Kucherov. Miller has nine points via three goals and six assists this season; Kucherov has three goals and six assists to his credit through the early stages of the regular season.
Over on the other bench, Arizona is 4-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through nine regular season contests, seven of its games have gone under the total, while one has gone over and just one has pushed. It’s 1-2 SU at home this season.
Arizona has converted on 12.0 percent of its extra-man advantages this year after scoring on 16.3 percent (ranked 27th in league) last season. It’s killed off a remarkable 91.3 percent of its penalties, a few points better than the 79.4 percent the team recorded a year ago (when it was ranked 18th overall).
Arizona players have been called for penalties 3.7 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 3.3, the fifth-best mark in the league. After serving an average of 7.8 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 8.2 minutes per outing this season.
Antti Raanta has stopped 24.0 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for Arizona. Raanta has two wins and four losses to his credit and has recorded a 2.32 goals against average and a .911 save percentage this year.
Clayton Keller (four goals, two assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Coyotes.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Arizona Coyotes Betting Predictions
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Coyotes, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone under in four of Arizona’s last five outings.
The Coyotes are 0-3 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 2-5 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
Tampa Bay has scored 3.3 goals per game (while allowing just 1.7) in their last three games (the team’s a perfect 3-0 SU over that span)
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