The Ottawa Senators, spearheaded by Mark Stone and Matt Duchene, are ready to take the ice against Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena for an Atlantic Division matchup. This one gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 2 and it’ll be shown live on TVA 2.
Ottawa Senators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
With a moneyline of -450, Tampa Bay enters the contest as the heavy favorite. The line for the Senators is standing at +350 and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-140 over, +120 under).
Earning 23.3 units for moneyline bettors, Tampa Bay is 49-16 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 54-28 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Through 65 regular season outings, 33 of its games have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team’s 26-7 SU at home this year.
The Lightning currently have the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as they have scored on 29.4 percent of their extra-man chances this year. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated third overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 85.8 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 30.4 saves per game with a .930 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (29 wins, 11 losses, and four OT losses) has been the principal option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If Tampa Bay decides to give him a rest, however, the team may turn to Louis Domingue (19-5-5 record, .908 save percentage, 2.92 goals against average).
Ottawa has lost 8.1 units for moneyline bettors thus far and is currently 22-42 straight up (SU). 35 of its contests have gone over the total, while 24 have gone under the total and just five have pushed. The Senators are 8-23 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Senators have converted on 20.9 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 24th overall and it’s successfully killed off 77.9 percent of all opponent power plays.
Craig Anderson (.904 save percentage and 3.50 goals against average) has been the main option in goal for Ottawa. Anderson is averaging 30.8 saves per game and owns a 14-26-3 record.
Ottawa Senators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- Over Tampa Bay’s last ten outings, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 6-1 in those games).
- Extra-man opportunities could be key tonight. The Senators are 10-15 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 17-26 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Lightning are 16-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 24-14 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Two of Tampa Bay’s last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 2-0 in those games and 6-1 overall in shootouts this season.
- Tampa Bay could hold the upper hand if it’s a close one late. The team’s 20-6 in games decided by one goal, while Ottawa is just 7-14 in such games.
- For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- Ottawa skaters have averaged 5.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 11.6 giveaways per game (ranked 23rd overall).
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 6.4 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 8.6 giveaways per game (ranked 8th overall).
- The Lightning this season have tallied the sixth-most hits in the league (25.3 per game).
