The Tampa Bay Lightning and the San Jose Sharks meet Thursday in NHL action from the SAP 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. San Jose Sharks prediction.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Preview
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this one looking to build on their four-game win streak after a 5-3 win over Vegas last time out. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 118 points including a team-high 41 goals and 77 assists while Brayden Point has 38 goals and 37 assists for his 75 points. Victor Hedman’s added 67 points with 55 assists while Steven Stamkos has 62 points with 35 assists and Brandon Hagel has 63 points split between 23 goals and 40 assists. Jonas Johansson has gone 11-7-5 with a 3.43 GAA and an .888 save percentage while Andrei Vasilevskiy is 25-16-1 with a 2.96 GAA and an .898 save percentage this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts
- The Lightning have won seven of their last eight games against the Sharks.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last four games.
- The Lightning have won the second period in six of their last seven games as favorites.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in each of the Lightning’s last seven games.
San Jose Sharks Team Preview
The San Jose Sharks come into this game looking to snap a five-game losing streak after an 8-2 loss to Nashville last time out. Mikael Granlund leads the Sharks in scoring with 45 points including a team-high 35 assists while William Eklund has 30 points with 20 assists and Fabian Zetterlund has 32 points with a team-high 18 goals. MacKenzie Blackwood’s gone 9-18-3 between the pipes for the Sharks this season, posting a 3.48 GAA and an .899 save percentage while Magnus Chrona is 1-6-1 with a 4.71 GAA and an .859 save percentage this season.
San Jose Sharks Team Facts
- The Sharks have lost each of their last 13 night games.
- The favorites have covered the puck line in each of the Sharks’ last four games.
- The Sharks have lost the third period in eight of their last nine night games.
- The ‘Over 2.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in four of the last five games between the Lightning and Sharks.
Lightning vs. Sharks Prediction
I’m on the Lightning -1.5 here. Do I love this price? No, but this is the epitome of two teams heading in different directions, both as of late and overall this season. The Sharks are getting their butts kicked on a nightly basis and the Lightning are looking like the team many expected to see consistently this season. I’ll side with the Bolts -1.5 here to keep the streaks going respectively on both sides.