The Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet in NHL action from the Amalie Arena on Monday night.
Bruins Take Out Montreal
The Boston Bruins come into this one looking to build on their 5-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in their last matchup. David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in scoring with 27 points including a team-high 11 goals and 16 assists while Brad Marchand has 18 points with 7 goals and 11 assists. Charlie Coyle has 14 points with 5 goals and 9 assists while Pavel Zacha has 13 points with 6 goals and 7 apples. James van Riemsdyk and Charlie McAvoy each have 12 points with JVR logging 5 goals and 7 assists while McAvoy’s pitched in 9 assists as well this season. Jeremy Swayman’s gone 7-0-1 with a 1.73 GAA and a .941 save percentage for the Bruins in goal while Linus Ullmark is 6-1-1 with a 2.23 GAA and a .928 save percentage this season.
Boston Bruins Team Facts
- The Bruins have won each of their last eight Monday games.
- The Bruins have covered the puck line in each of their last eight games at Amalie Arena.
- The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in six of the Bruins' last seven games as favorites.
- The Bruins have won the first period in each of their last five games against Atlantic Division opponents.
Lightning Takes Down Oilers
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this one on the heels of back-to-back wins after a 6-4 win over Edmonton last time out. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 27 points including a team-high 13 goals and 14 assists while Brayden Point has 7 goals and 16 assists for his 23 points. Victor Hedman’s added 19 points with 15 assists while Steven Stamkos has 18 points with 12 assists and Brandon Hagel has 16 points split between 8 goals and 8 assists. Jonas Johansson has gone 7-4-4 with a 3.40 GAA and an .896 save percentage while Matt Tomkins is 1-2 with a 3.40 GAA and an .889 save percentage this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts
- The Lightning have won four of their last five games as underdogs against opponents on a winning streak.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in seven of the last eight games between the Bruins and Lightning at Amalie Arena.
- The Lightning have won the third period in seven of their last eight games at Amalie Arena following a win.
- The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in each of the Lightning's last nine games as underdogs against opponents on a winning streak.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 4th in the league in power play percentage this season (31.67%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 27th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.61).
- The Boston Bruins ranks 1st in the league for goals against per game this season (2.00).
- The Boston Bruins ranks 1st in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (91.53%).
Chris’ Pick
I’m on the Bruins here. Tampa Bay may have picked up back-to-back wins, and they have been better at home, but the Bruins are the better team overall and I’m still not trusting this goaltending group of Jonas Johansson and Matt Tomkins. Andrei Vasilevskiy looks to be returning soon, so the Lightning see the light at the end of the tunnel, but until he comes back, against one of the NHL’s best, I have to go to the other side. Give me Boston here.
