Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins – 8/23/20 NHL Pick, Odds, and Prediction
Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning 8/23/20: NHL Hockey free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-08-23 20:00:00 EDT
The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning meet Sunday in game one of the NHL East Second Round at the Scotiabank Arena.
The Boston Bruins are coming off a five-game series victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Boston Bruins are averaging 2.38 goals per game and are scoring on 17.9 percent of their power play opportunities. Brad Marchand leads Boston with three goals, David Krejci has six assists and Patrice Bergeron has 32 shots on goal. Defensively, the Boston Bruins are allowing 2.5 goals per game and are killing 85.7 percent of their opponents power plays. Jaroslav Halak has allowed nine goals on 102 shots faced and Tuukka Rask has allowed 11 goals on 114 shots.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are coming off a five-game series win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Tampa Bay Lightning are averaging 2.5 goals per game and are scoring on 13.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Brayden Point leads Tampa Bay with five goals, Nikita Kucherov has seven assists and Victor Hedman has 25 shots on goal. Defensively, the Tampa Bay Lightning are allowing 2.5 goals per game and are killing 87.1 percent of their opponents power plays. Andrei Vasilevskiy has given up 19 goals on 261 shots faced.
The Bruins are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Tampa Bay and 1-6 in the last 7 meetings. The underdog is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings. The road team is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings. The under is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings in Tampa Bay.
The Tampa Bay Lightning seem to have found their rhythm after some shaky play heading into the bubble, and they now get a series against a Boston Bruins club that they’ve beaten in eight of the last 10 meetings. The Bruins have had some issues finding the back of the net and their average of 2.38 goals per game is the worst of the remaining playoff teams. This should be a fun battle between two experienced teams with championship pedigree, but it’s tough not to side with the Lighting based on their dominance over the Bruins, especially when we’re getting a cheap price.
