It is an Atlantic Division battle as the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Boston Bruins. It is time to continue our NHL odds series with a Lightning-Bruins prediction and pick.
The Lightning come into the game at 23-15-3 on the year, which places them in third in the Atlantic Divison. Last time out, they faced the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rickard Rakell scored in the first period to give the Penguins the 1-0 lead, but Brandon Hagel would score to tie the game in the second period. Nikita Kucherov would score to give the Lightning the lead in the second period. The Penguins would tie the game in the third period, but the Lightning scored three times in the last 3:03 of the third period to win the game 5-2.
Meanwhile, the Bruins are 21-19-5, which places them fourth in the Atlantic Division. In their last game, the Bruins broke their six-game losing streak. The Bruins struck first on a Morgan Geekie goal, but the Panthers would tie the game up. David Pastrnak scored in the second period, but the Panthers would tie the game in the third. After both teams scored again in the third to force overtime. With just two seconds left in overtime, David Pastrnak scored to win the game for the Bruins.
Here are the Lightning-Bruins NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NHL Odds: Lightning-Bruins Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning: +1.5 (-300)
Moneyline: -110
Boston Bruins: -1.5 (+235)
Moneyline: -110
Over: 5.5 (-128)
Under: 5.5 (+104)
How To Watch Lightning vs Bruins
Time: 7:00 PM ET/ 4:00 PM PT
TV: ESPN+
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why the Lightning Could Cover the Spread/Win
The combination of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point leads the top line for the Lightning. Kucherov leads the team in assists and points this year. He comes into the game with 20 goals and 42 assists, good for 62 points. Further, he has two goals and 22 assists on the power play. Kucherov is joined on the line by Brayden Point, who leads the team in goals. Point recently scored his 600th NHL point and comes into the game with 25 goals and 22 assists, with 12 goals and eight assists on the power play. Finally, Jake Guentzel rounds out the line. He has 21 goals and 21 assists on the year, with nine goals and three assists on the power play.
Meanwhile, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli lead the second line for the Lightning. Hagel comes into the game with 20 goals and 28 assists this year, while having two goals and three assists shorthanded. Cirelli has 17 goals and 19 assists on the year. Finally, Victor Hedman has six goals and 26 assists from the blue line.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to be the goalkeeper for the Lightning in this game. He is 18-12-2 on the year with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Last time out, Vasilevskiy allowed three goals, the most he allowed in his last five starts. Further, he has had a save percentage over .905 in four of the last five starts, going 2-2-1.
Why the Bruins Could Cover the Spread/Win
The Bruins are led by David Pastrnak. He leads the team in goals, assists, and points this year. Pastrnak has 19 goals and 26 assists, good for 45 points. He is joined on the top line by Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie. Zacha has nine goals and 12 assists this year, while Geekie has ten goals and ten assists.
Brand Marchand, currently on the second line, is second on the team in goals, assists, and points. He has 15 goals and 18 assists on the year. He is joined by Elias Lindholm, who has seven goals and 14 assists on the year, third on the team in points. Further, the Bruins also get production from Charlie McAvoy from the blue line. McAvoy comes in with five goals and 15 assists this year.
Jeremy Swayman is expected to be in goal for the Bruins in this one. He is 14-15-3 with a 2.92 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. Swayman has averaged allowing three goals per start over his last five games, including in his last one. It was against the Panthers, where he stopped 40 of 43 shots in an overtime win.
Final Lightning-Bruins Prediction & Pick
The odds in this NHL game suggest a tight game. The Bruins are scoring just 2.58 goals per game this year, but in the last ten games have scored just 25 goals. Further, they are 23rd in the NHL in goals against per game, allowing 3.16 per game, but in the last ten games have allowed 32 goals. Meanwhile, the Lightning are scoring 3.68 goals per game, while allowing just 2.73, eighth in the NHL. The Lightning have been the better team as of late, and they get the win in this one.
Final Lightning-Bruins Prediction & Pick: Lightning ML (-110)