In their first head-to-head matchup of the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet at Amalie Arena in an Atlantic Division showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, October 18, and you will be able to view it live on Fox Sports Detroit.
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay enters the contest as the substantial favorite with a moneyline of -300. The line for Detroit sits at +250 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-120 for the over, +100 for the under).
Tampa Bay is 3-1 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.1 units this season. That winning percentage, the NHL’s fourth-best so far this season, is a slide from what the team recorded during last year’s regular season (54-28). The team’s 3-1 SU at home this year.
The Bolts have successfully connected on 31.3 percent of their power play opportunities in 2018-19. That’s a noticeable improvement from last year, when they were ranked fourth in the league by scoring on 24.8 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has improved nicely year-over-year as they’ve gone from successfully defending 75.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 28th overall last season) to 100.0 percent this year.
The Lightning, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.5 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.1, the fifth-highest mark in the league. After serving an average of 9.6 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 9.5 minutes per matchup this year.
Averaging 32.0 saves per game with a .950 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (2-1) has been the top goalkeeper for Tampa Bay this year. If head coach Jon Cooper chooses to give him a breather, however, Tampa Bay might go with Louis Domingue (1-0 record, .950 save percentage, 2.00 goals against average).
Tyler Johnson and Yanni Gourde will both spearhead the attack for the Lightning. Johnson (five points) has tallied three goals and two assists while Gourde has two goals and two assists to his name so far in the early stages of the season.
On the other hand, Detroit is 0-6 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.0 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year. A total of four of its games has gone over the total, while two have gone under the total and none have pushed. As an away team so far, the Red Wings are 0-4 SU.
The Wings have scored on 29.4 percent of their power play chances this year after converting on 17.5 percent of their extra-man opportunities last season (a percentage that was ranked just 23rd in the NHL). The team has gone from killing off 77.6 percent of opponent power plays (ranked 23rd overall last season) to 79.2 percent in 2018-19.
Detroit’s skaters have been penalized 5.7 times per game this season, a number that has risen noticeably from the 3.7 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 9.0 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s had to stave off opponent power plays for a taxing 14.8 minutes per matchup this season.
The winless Jimmy Howard (.883 save percentage and 3.99 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for Detroit. Howard is averaging 26.5 saves per game and owns a 0-4-2 record.
Gustav Nyquist (zero goals, five assists) has been one of the top playmaking threats for the visiting Red Wings.
Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone under in three of Tampa Bay’s last five outings.
Detroit skaters recorded 19.6 hits per game last season, while the Bolts logged 22.6 hits per matchup.
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