T-Mobile Arena will play host to an East-West tilt as the Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the Vegas Golden Knights. The opening face-off takes place at 10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 19, and it can be caught live on Sportsnet ONE.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Vegas Golden Knights Odds
With a moneyline of -130, Tampa Bay enters the matchup as the favorite. The line for Vegas sits at +110 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 for the over and -110 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 24-8 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 13.2 units this season. Through 32 regular season matches, 19 of its games have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and none have pushed. The Bolts are 11-5 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Tampa Bay currently has the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s scored on 27.6 percent of its extra-man opportunities this season. Its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 81.4 percent of its penalties.
The Bolts, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.0 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, and 5.0 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Boasting a .934 save percentage and 30.2 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (21-5-1) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If it chooses to rest him, however, the team could go with Peter Budaj (3-3-1), who has a .878 save percentage and 3.67 goals against average this year.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both be relied on to produce for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov has 46 points on 23 goals and 23 assists, and has recorded multiple points 15 times. Stamkos has 12 goals and 31 assists to his nameand has notched a point in 23 games.
Vegas is 21-11 straight up (SU) and has earned 13.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 32 regular season matches, 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 10 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 13-3 SU at home this year.
The Golden Knights have converted on just 18.2 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
Golden Knights players have been penalized only 3.5 times per game in total this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 6.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Maxime Lagace has stopped 23.9 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for the Golden Knights. Lagace has seven wins, seven losses, and one OT loss to his name and has maintained a pedestrian 3.79 goals against average and a poor .872 save percentage this year.
Jonathan Marchessault (11 goals, 18 assists) will pace the attack for the hosts.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Vegas Golden Knights Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Tampa Bay is 1-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Vegas is 2-2 in shootouts.
- Tampa Bay has managed 29.8 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Vegas is averaging 35.6 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Seven of Tampa Bay’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 6-1 in those games.
