Subscribe
Follow Us
The Tampa Bay Lightning will attempt to rebound quickly after losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs less than 24 hours earlier. The New Jersey Devils have been waiting at home for this matchup since they lost to the Washington Capitals in overtime on Saturday night. It's time to continue our NHL odds series with a Lightning-Devils prediction and pick.
Here are the Lightning-Devils NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Lightning-Devils Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning: +1.5 (-180)
Moneyline: +140
New Jersey Devils: -1.5 (+150)
Moneyline: -165
Over: 6.5 (-120)
Under: 6.5 (+100)
How To Watch Lightning vs. Devils
Time: 6:45 PM ET/3:45 PM PT
TV: FanDuel Sports Network, MSGSN
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why the Lightning Could Cover the Spread/Win
Article Continues Below
The Lightning isn't going to take kindly to what happened to them at the start of their road trip. Tampa Bay headed north for games against the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs before finishing the quick trip with this game against the Devils. The Lightning dropped a 5-4 decision on Saturday's matinee and then lost to the Leafs on Monday night.
Since Steven Stamkos went to the Nashville Predators in the offseason, Tampa Bay's offense hasn't lost a step. The Lightning have 3.6 goals per game this season, and Kucherov is on fire again with two points per game. Kucherov focused on assists when Stamkos was on the team, but it seems he has taken it upon himself to replace Stamkos' production. Kucherov has seven goals and three assists through five games.
Why the Devils Could Cover the Spread/Win
The Devils will face a motivated Lightning team after the disappointing loss to the Maple Leafs, but on the other end of the spectrum, we have the fatigue factor. The Devils are a high-intensity team that will push the pace on the Lightning. Tampa Bay will have some fuel early after Monday night's loss, but we could see them lose steam toward the end of the game.
Andrei Vasilevskiy has had an ugly trip. On Saturday, he allowed five goals on 28 shots against the Senators and four on 14 to the Leafs. Vasilevskiy refuses typically to come out of games, but Jon Cooper hauled him out of the net after the fourth goal. There is an excellent chance that the Lightning plan to start Vasilevskiy again on Tuesday night, and Cooper used the Leafs' domination to give him some extra rest.
The Devils used the offseason to fix their goaltending problem, acquiring Jacob Markstrom from the Calgary Flames. It has worked so far, as the Devils allow just 2.5 goals per game. Markstrom has a 3-2-1 record with a 2.99 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage. Amazingly, Markstrom isn't the best-performing goaltender on their roster, as Jake Allen is 2-0 with a 0.50 goals-against average and a .974 save percentage.
Final Lightning-Devils Prediction & Pick
It's hard to bet against the Lightning despite not being the same team we remember from their back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. If you had watched their performances against the Senators and Maple Leafs, you might have seen cracks forming in the team's foundation. The defense isn't the same as it used to be, and Vasilevskiy can't cover those mistakes like he used to do so many times during those runs.
Combine those factors with the Lightning being tired on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Devils seem like the right pick.
Final Lightning-Devils Prediction & Pick: Devils ML (-165)
