The Boston Bruins at Amalie Arena in Game 2 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. NBC Sports Network will air the game, and the action gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, April 30.
Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay (-155) is currently the favorite over Boston (+135), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -110 for the over and -110 on the under.
The Lightning are 58-30 straight up (SU) and have earned 8.9 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league so far in the early season, is a solid improvement compared to what the team did during last year’s regular season (42-40). Of its 88 games this season, 53 have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 32-13 SU at home this season.
Tampa Bay’s offense attempted 32.8 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.6 goals per outing (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the team is managing an average of 34.0 shots on goal ( 3.3 goals per game).
Following a regular season where they scored on 24.2 percent of all power-play chances (the third-best), the Lightning have been able to score on 27.3 percent of their postseason power plays. Their penalty kill has gone from 76.3 percent in the regular season to 80.0 percent in the playoffs.
Averaging 29.4 saves per game with a .920 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (48-23-3) has been the top option in goal for the Lightning this year. If the Bolts choose to give him the night off, however, it might turn to Louis Domingue (7-12-12 record, .894 save percentage, 3.41 goals against average).
The Bolts will continue to lean on the leadership out of Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Kucherov (110 points) has put up 44 goals and 66 assists and has recorded multiple points on 34 separate occasions this year. Stamkos has 28 goals and 64 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 57 contests.
On the other bench, Boston is 55-35 straight up (SU) and has earned 5.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. A total of 44 of its contests have gone under the total, while 41 have gone over and just five have pushed. Boston’s 24-21 SU as the road team this season.
Boston has converted on 24.6 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 third overall and it’s successfully killed off 83.0 percent of all penalties.
Boston’s players have been called for penalties 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five on the road. The team has had to kill penalties just 6.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Tuukka Rask (25.7 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Boston. Rask owns a 39-23-5 record, while registering a .916 save percentage and 2.42 goals against average this year.
Brad Marchand (38 goals, 60 assists) has been one of the top facilitators on offense for the visiting Bruins.
Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
The over has hit in three of Tampa Bay’s last five outings.
Boston’s attempted 33.0 shots per contest overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 29.6 in its last five road games.
Power plays and penalty kills could be critical in the outcome of this game. The Bruins are 16-20 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 32-24 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Lightning are 27-16 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 32-19 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Tampa Bay is ranked 19th overall this season with 7.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher recently, as it has created 7.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.6 takeaways over its last five.
Boston is ranked seventh overall with 8.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower, however, as it’s averaged 6.4 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.6 takeaways over its last five.
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