Canadian Tire Centre plays host to an enticing tilt as the Tampa Bay Lightning come into town to face the Ottawa Senators. It’s the fourth and final time that the two clubs will go at it in the regular season. This divisional matchup will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday, April 1 and it’ll be shown live on The Sports Network.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Ottawa Senators Odds
This matchup’s moneyline and Over/Under odds have not been posted by bookmakers yet.
Tampa Bay is 59-19 straight up (SU) and has earned 28.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. 42 of its contests have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under and just three have pushed. This 2018-19 Lightning team is 27-10 SU on the road.
Tampa Bay currently has the first-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s scored on 28.6 percent of its extra-man advantages this year. Its penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.8 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Tampa Bay has been penalized 4.0 times per game in the 2018-19 season, and 5.0 per game over its past five matchups. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 10.2 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Averaging 30.1 saves per game with a .925 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (37-14-4) has been the best option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. If head coach Jon Cooper decides to rest him, however, Tampa Bay could turn to Louis Domingue (21-5), who has a .908 save percentage and 2.88 goals against average this year.
The visiting Lightning will be led by Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Kucherov has 122 points on 39 goals and 83 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 36 different games. Stamkos has 41 goals and 52 assists to his name, and has registered at least one point in 50 games.
On the other bench, Ottawa is 28-50 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. 41 of its matches have gone over the total, while 32 have gone under and just five have pushed. This season, the team’s 18-21 SU at home.
Ottawa has converted on 20.3 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 22nd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.3 percent of all penalties.
The Senators have been penalized only 3.4 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five games. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Craig Anderson (31.0 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in the crease for Ottawa. Anderson has 17 wins, 31 losses, and four OT losses and has recorded a mediocre 3.43 goals against average and a fairly-weak .906 save percentage this year.
Mark Stone (28 goals, 34 assists) will pace the offensive counter for Ottawa.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Ottawa Senators Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The over has hit in each of Tampa Bay’s last five outings.
- Penalties and power plays could play a critical role in the outcome of this one. The Lightning are 18-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 29-16 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Senators are 14-17 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 22-34 when total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Tampa Bay (6-1 in shootouts this season) has more experience in games decided by shootout. Ottawa fell short in its one shootout this season.
- Ottawa is ranked 19th this season with 7.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher recently, as it has forced 8.0 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.2 takeaways over its last five.
- Tampa Bay is ranked 22nd this season with 7.0 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it has created 7.9 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.8 takeaways over its last five.
- Tampa Bay could hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The team’s an impressive 24-7 in one-goal games, while Ottawa is only 9-17 in such games.
