Two of the NHL’s best teams on the power play, the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning collide at Amalie Arena for an Atlantic Division tilt. The match gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 3 and it can be watched live on NBC Sports Network.
Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Netting 7.5 units for moneyline bettors, the Lightning are 52-27 straight up (SU) overall in the 2017-18 season. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league so far in the early season, is a solid improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2016-17 season (42-40). Of the team’s 79 games this season, 48 have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 27-12 SU at home this year.
Tampa Bay currently has the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as the team has found the net on 24.7 percent of their extra-man opportunities this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 76.0 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Tampa has been penalized 4.1 times per game overall this season, and 5.0 per game over its last five matchups. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 7.6 minutes per contest over its last five home games.
Averaging 29.3 saves per game with a .919 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (42-21-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Lightning this season. If they, however, decide to give him the night off, the team might turn to Louis Domingue (7-11-11 record, .892 save percentage, 3.44 goals against average).
The Bolts will continue looking for leadership out of Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Kucherov (97 points) is up to 38 goals and 59 assists and has recorded two or more points 30 times this year. Stamkos has 27 goals and 59 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 52 games.
On the other side of the ice, Boston is 49-29 straight up (SU) and has earned 8.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 40 of its outings have gone under the total, while 35 have gone over and just three have pushed. Boston’s 22-17 SU as the visiting team this season.
Boston has scored on 23.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the top-five among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked fifth overall and it’s successfully killed off 83.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
Boston’s skaters have been penalized 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.4 per game over their last five road outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 4.8 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Tuukka Rask (25.5 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Boston. Rask has 34 wins, 17 losses, and five OT losses to his credit, and has registered a .919 save percentage and 2.28 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Bruins will be Brad Marchand (34 goals, 50 assists) and David Pastrnak (33 goals, 45 assists).
Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Tampa Bay’s last five games.
Penalties and power plays may be key tonight. The Bruins are 14-18 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 27-18 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes. The Lightning are 25-15 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 29-17 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Tampa Bay is 6-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Boston is 3-3 in shootouts.
Tampa Bay is ranked 20th in the NHL this season with 6.9 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as it has created 6.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.2 takeaways over its last five.
Boston is ranked eighth overall this season with 8.3 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down, however, as it’s created 6.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.0 takeaways over its last five.
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