The St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet in NHL action from the Amalie Arena on Tuesday night. Can Tampa Bay defend home ice? Or will the Blues come in and play spoiler at an underdog price? Let’s dive in and find out with our Blues vs. Lightning Prediction.
St. Louis Blues Team Preview
The St. Louis Blues come into this game looking to build on back-to-back wins after a 4-3 OT win over Dallas last time out. Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 32 points including team-highs of 12 goals and 20 assists while Pavel Buchnevich has 23 points split between 10 goals and 13 assists. Jordan Kyrou has 21 points with 6 goals and 15 assists while Brayden Schenn has 16 points with 8 goals and 8 assists and Kevin Hayes has 16 points with 9 goals and 7 assists as well this season. Jordan Binnington’s gone 10-9-1 with a 3.05 GAA and a .908 save percentage between the pipes for St. Louis while Joel Hofer is 5-5 with a 3.19 GAA and a .893 save percentage this season. The Blues are 9th in the West with 31 points, a point behind the Arizona Coyotes.
St. Louis Blues Team Facts
- The underdogs have won each of the Blues’ last five games.
- The underdogs have covered the puck line in each of the Blues’ last five games.
- The home team has won the second period in each of the Blues’ last four games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Blues’ last 10 games after coming off overtime.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Preview
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to bounce back from a 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames last time out. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 52 points including a team-high 20 goals and 32 assists while Brayden Point has 14 goals and 20 assists for his 34 points. Victor Hedman’s added 28 points with 23 assists while Steven Stamkos has 31 points with 16 assists and Brandon Hagel has 27 points split between 10 goals and 17 assists. Jonas Johansson has gone 8-6-5 with a 3.47 GAA and an .891 save percentage while Andrei Vasilevskiy is 5-5 with a 3.02 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season. The Lightning are level with the New Jersey Devils as both teams have 33 points.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts
- The Lightning have lost four of their last five games as favorites against opponents on a winning streak.
- The home team has covered the puck line in seven of the Lightning’s last eight games.
- The home team has won the second period in each of the Lightning’s last six games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in each of the Lightning’s last five home games against opponents on a winning streak.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 2nd in the league in power play percentage this season (30.10%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 29th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.56).
- The St. Louis Blues ranks 32nd in the league in power play percentage this season (9.20%).
- The St. Louis Blues ranks 32nd in the league in penalty minutes this season (208).
Blues vs. Lightning Prediction
I’m taking Tampa Bay here. This is one of my least favorite games on the board, but usually the Lightning are heavily favored at home because it’s where they’ve played their best hockey for some time now. The Blues are still wildly inconsistent and I’m just not sure I can confidently back them here against a Lightning team that’s desperate to find some solid form. Give me Tampa Bay at home here.
