In what is already their final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning collide at Amalie Arena. This East-West matchup will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, November 23, and it can be caught live on NBC Sports Chicago.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Playing the role of solid favorite will be Tampa Bay (-200), whereas Chicago is a dog offering moneyline odds of +170, and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. If you want to play this game’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Earning 2.9 units for moneyline bettors, the Lightning are 15-7 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, ranked second in the league in this young season, is right in line with the 54-28 record the team produced during the 2017-18 season campaign. Of its 22 games this season, 11 have gone over the total, while 10 have gone under and just one has pushed. This year, the team is 8-3 SU at home.
Tampa Bay has connected on 28.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s good enough for sixth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.5 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Tampa Bay has been penalized 4.1 times per game overall this season, 4.2 per game over its last five outings total, and 3.8 per game over its last five home outings. The team’s had to stave off opposition power plays for just 8.4 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 29.4 saves per game with a .927 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (9-4-1) has been the primary option in goal for the Lightning this season. If the Bolts choose to rest him, however, the team could roll with Louis Domingue (6-3-3 record, .898 save percentage, 3.46 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point will each lead the charge for the Lightning. Kucherov (27 points) has tallied nine goals and 18 assists and has recorded multiple points in seven different games this year. Point has 14 goals and 12 assists to his credit and has recorded a point in 12 games.
In the other locker room, Chicago is 8-14 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. A total of 11 of its outings have gone under the total, while 10 have gone over and just one has pushed. As the away team, Chicago is 3-8 SU so far.
Chicago has converted on just 13.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places it in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 30th overall and it’s successfully defended 73.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Chicago’s players have been whistled for penalties only 3.1 times per game this season, and 2.2 per game over their past five contests. The team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 7.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Corey Crawford (28.3 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Chicago. Crawford has five wins, eight losses, and one OT loss to his credit, and has registered a .918 save percentage and 2.57 goals against average this year.
Patrick Kane (12 goals, 13 assists) will pace the offensive counter for the visiting Blackhawks.
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
Two clubs that have clobbered opponents’ goalies with shots, Chicago has taken the league’s 10th-most shots on goal (32.7) and Tampa Bay has attempted the 10th-most (32.7).
The Blackhawks are 2-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 6-11 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Tampa Bay is ranked 18th with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down recently, however, as the team has created 6.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 4.4 takeaways over its last five.
Chicago has averaged 9.4 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 7.1 takeaways per game (ranked 17th in the NHL).
Tampa Bay could hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 6-3 in games decided by one goal, while Chicago is 4-6 in such games.
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