Two teams that have put themselves firmly in the playoff hunt, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Minnesota Wild meet at the Xcel Energy Center for an East-West showdown. This one will get started at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 20 and it can be caught live on Fox Sports North.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Minnesota Wild Odds
Tampa Bay (+100) is currently the underdog to Tampa Bay (-120), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Tampa Bay is 31-14 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 9.1 units this season. 26 of its games have gone over the total, while 19 have gone under and none have pushed. The Bolts are 14-8 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Tampa Bay enters the match up with the third-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s found the net on 24.5 percent of its extra-man opportunities this season. Its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 79.6 percent of all penalties.
The Bolts, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.1 times per game this season, 4.4 per game over its last five contests total, and 4.2 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays 9.6 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Averaging 28.4 saves per game with a .929 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (27-11-2) has been the top option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If head coach Jon Cooper decides to rest him, however, the team could turn to Louis Domingue (1-7), who has a .870 save percentage and 4.02 goals against average this year.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both be relied on to facilitate things for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov (61 points) is up to 27 goals and 34 assists, and has recorded two or more points 20 times. Stamkos has 17 goals and 36 assists to his name (and has registered a point in 30 games).
On the other bench, Minnesota is 24-22 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 46 regular season contests, 23 of its games have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 15-8 SU at home this season.
The Wild have converted on just 19.1 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked seventh overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Wild players have been penalized 4.2 times per game in total this season, and 3.2 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 8.0 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Devan Dubnyk (28.3 saves per game) has been the top selection in goal for the Wild. Dubnyk has 18 wins, 12 losses, and three OT losses and has registered a .919 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average this season.
Eric Staal (19 goals, 19 assists) will lead the attack for the Wild.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Minnesota Wild Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
Over Minnesota’s last ten outings, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-2 in those games).
The Lightning are 18-7 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 17-7 when they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 total minutes.
Minnesota is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Tampa Bay is 2-2 in shootouts.
The total has gone under in four of Minnesota’s last five games.
One of the best at valuing the puck, Minnesota is ranked 2nd this season with just 6.0 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down lately, however, as it’s averaged 4.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 4.2 giveaways over its last five.
Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 10.4 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 8.6 giveaways per game (ranked 11th in the league).
