The Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins meet Saturday in NHL action at the TD Garden. Here’s a Bruins vs. Lightning Prediction. This article will include a Bruins vs. Lightning Pick.
Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost to the Senators and Habs and play the Red Wings next. The Lightning have lost 3 straight games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are averaging 3.52 goals per game and are scoring on 21.2 percent of their power-play opportunities. Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with 43 goals, Jake Guentzel has 49 assists, and Darren Raddysh has 207 shots on goal. Defensively, the Tampa Bay Lightning are allowing 2.8 goals per game and are killing 82.5 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Andrei Vasilevskiy has allowed 128 goals on 1,432 shots faced, while Jonas Johansson has given up 78 goals on 670 shots.
Boston Bruins Betting Preview
The Boston Bruins lost to the Flyers and Hurricanes, and they play the Blue Jackets next. The Bruins have lost 4 straight games.
The Boston Bruins are averaging 3.29 goals per game and are scoring on 23.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Morgan Geekie leads Boston with 37 goals, David Pasternak has 70 assists and Viktor Arvidsson has 170 shots on goal. Defensively, the Boston Bruins are allowing 3.08 goals per game and are killing 76.6 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jeremy Swayman has allowed 144 goals on 1,526 shots faced, while Joonas Korpisalo has given up 88 goals on 816 shots.
Why the Boston Bruins will win
- The Bruins have won each of their last five games as home underdogs against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Lightning have lost four of their last five games as road favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
- The Bruins have covered the puck line in each of their last nine games as home underdogs against opponents on a losing streak.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four road games.
- The Bruins have won the third period in eight of their last nine day games against Eastern Conference opponents at TD Garden when tied after the second period.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The Lightning have won 11 of their last 12 day games.
- The Bruins have lost each of their last four games.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last four day games.
- The Bruins have failed to cover the puck line in four of their last five home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Bruins have lost the second period in each of their last five games against Atlantic Division opponents when leading after the first period.
Total Goals Facts
- Eight of the last nine day games between teams from the same division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Bruins’ last four home games against Eastern Conference opponents has gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Each of the Lightning’s last six Saturday road games has gone OVER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in seven of the Bruins’ last eight games as home underdogs.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in 14 of the Lightning’s last 15 games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
Boston Bruins Player Prop Facts
- Pavel Zacha has scored at least one goal in four of the Bruins’ last five games as underdogs against Eastern Conference opponents.
- David Pastrnak has recorded at least one assist in each of the Bruins’ last seven home games.
- David Pastrnak has recorded at least one shot in each of his last 68 appearances—the longest active streak in the league.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Darren Raddysh has scored a goal in each of his last three appearances against the Bruins.
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in each of the Lightning’s last 10 Saturday day road games.
- Nikita Kucherov ranks 1st in the league for multi-assist games (25) this season.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Boston Bruins rank 25th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (76.47%).
- The Boston Bruins rank 32nd in the league for power play goals against this season (64).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning are one of only two teams in the league to rank top 5 for both goals for and goals against per game this season.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 3rd in the league for goals against per game this season (2.80).
Bruins vs Lightning Prediction
With the week the Bruins and Lightning are having, this feels like a battle of two playoff teams that are tired of the regular season and waiting for the fun stuff. The Lightning are probably the better side and they’ve won 4 straight against the Bruins, including a 3-1 victory last week.
However, this is an early start time, which usually favors the home team. Also, with both teams riding a losing streak, the home crowd could be the slight edge in terms of making a pick. The Bruins have been a completely different team on their home ice. You’re giving me the Bruins at home as a slight dog; I’ll take it.