The Prudential Center will play host to an intriguing showdown as the Tampa Bay Lightning visit New Jersey to face the Devils. It’s the third and last time that the two clubs will go at it in the regular season. This Eastern Conference matchup gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, December 3, and it’ll be shown live on MSG Network.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New Jersey Devils Odds
With a -140 moneyline, Tampa Bay heads into the contest as the noticeable favorite. The line for New Jersey sits at +120 and the Over/Under (O/U) is placed at 7 goals. If you want to play the game’s total, you’ll be looking at odds of -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 19-8 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 27 regular season matches, 14 of its games have gone over the total, while 11 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the road team this season, the Bolts are 8-4 SU.
Tampa Bay has converted on 27.6 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked 12th overall, and it has successfully killed off 81.1 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, Tampa Bay has been penalized 3.9 times per game overall in the 2018-19 season, and 2.8 per game over its past five contests. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Averaging 28.2 saves per game with a .896 save percentage, Louis Domingue (10-4) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If Tampa Bay decides to rest him, however, they might go with Andrei Vasilevskiy (9-4-1 record, .927 save percentage, 2.29 goals against average).
The visiting Lightning have relied on Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point heavily this season. Kucherov has 38 points on 11 goals and 27 assists, and has recorded two or more points 11 times. Point has 19 goals and 15 assists to his credit (and has logged at least one point in 16 games).
New Jersey is 9-16 straight up (SU) and has lost 8.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 25 regular season contests, 15 of its games have gone over the total, while eight have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 7-5 SU as the home team this year.
New Jersey has converted on 19.5 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.7 percent of all penalties.
New Jersey players have been sent to the penalty box 4.1 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five at home. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Keith Kinkaid has stopped 27.6 shots per game as the primary choice in the crease for New Jersey. Kinkaid has nine wins, 12 losses, and five OT losses and has recorded a mediocre 2.84 goals against average and a poor .909 save percentage this season.
Taylor Hall (eight goals, 19 assists) will lead the offensive counter for the Devils.
Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Devils, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
For both of these clubs, the over has hit in each of their last five matchups.
Two offenses that fire the puck on goal a lot, Tampa Bay has attempted the league’s seventh-most shots on goal (33.1) and New Jersey has attempted the fourth-most (33.6).
The Devils are 4-8 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Lightning are 10-2 SU when they spend more time in the box than their opponent.
New Jersey skaters have managed 12.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 9.1 takeaways per game (ranked 5th in the league).
Tampa Bay skaters have forced 3.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.0 takeaways per game (ranked 21st in the NHL).
Tampa Bay might hold an advantage if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 8-3 in one-goal games, while New Jersey is 2-7 in such games.
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