The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes meet Thursday in NHL action from the Lenovo Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Carolina Hurricanes prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to add on to their 4-2 win over Toronto last time out to improve to 38-14-4 this season. After this game, Tampa Bay will head home for a game against the Buffalo Sabres.
Lightning Win 6 Straight
Going into Wednesday’s game, Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 91 points including 29 goals and 62 assists while Brandon Hagel has 54 points with 27 goals and 27 assists and Jake Guentzel has 60 points with 26 goals and 34 assists. Anthony Cirelli has 35 points with 15 goals and 20 assists. Darren Raddysh has also added 52 points with 17 goals and 35 assists as well on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 27-7-3 with a 2.11 GAA and a .920 save percentage while Jonas Johansson is 10-7-1 with a 2.92 GAA and an .890 save percentage this season.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The Lightning have won each of their last 14 games following a home win.
- The Hurricanes have lost four of their last six games as a home favorite when playing with a rest advantage.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last nine games as underdogs.
- The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last six home games when playing with a rest advantage.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Nikita Kucherov has scored at least one goal in nine of the Lightning’s last 11 road games.
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in each of the Lightning’s last seven games.
- Nikita Kucherov ranks T1st in the league for Assists (64) this season.
Carolina Hurricanes Recap
The Carolina Hurricanes come into this game looking to add on to their 2-0 win over the New York Rangers last time out to sit at 36-15-6 this season. After this game, Carolina will take on the Detroit Red Wings at home.
Hurricanes Win 3 Straight
Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes in scoring with 57 points including 20 goals and 37 assists while Seth Jarvis has 43 points with a team-high 25 goals. Jackson Blake’s added 33 points with 16 goals and 17 assists while Logan Stankoven has 25 points with 10 goals and 15 assists and Nikolaj Ehlers has 43 points with 14 goals and 29 assists of his own this season. Taylor Hall has also chipped in 27 points with 12 goals and 15 assists. Shayne Gostisbehere has 38 points with 29 assists and Andrei Svechnikov has 49 points with 21 goals and 28 assists. In goal for Carolina, Frederik Andersen has gone 7-10-5 with a 3.26 GAA and an .871 save percentage while Brandon Bussi is 23-3-1 with a 2.16 GAA and a .908 save percentage this season. Pyotr Kochetkov is also 6-2 with a 2.33 GAA and an .899 save percentage as well this season.
Why the Carolina Hurricanes will win
- The home team has won each of the Lightning’s last seven games.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four road games following a win.
- The home team has covered the puck line in each of the last three games between the Lightning and Hurricanes.
Carolina Hurricanes Player Prop Facts
- Jordan Staal has scored the last goal in three of the Hurricanes’ last four night games.
- Jordan Staal has scored a goal in each of the Hurricanes’ last four home games.
- Sebastian Aho has recorded at least one assist in each of the Hurricanes’ last eight home games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Total Goals Facts
- Eight of the Hurricanes’ last nine night games at Lenovo Center have gone OVER the total goals line.
- Seven of the Lightning’s last eight night games at Lenovo Center have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Seven of the last eight Thursday games at Lenovo Center have gone OVER the total goals line.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Carolina Hurricanes Prediction
I’m on Carolina in this one. I get the allure of backing Tampa Bay with how hot this team has been and they’re coming off of the win over Toronto, but they do start their backup here and while Jonas Johansson’s played well he’s still a drop off compared to Andrei Vasilevskiy. I think the Hurricanes can get the job done at home so I’ll roll with Carolina in this game.