Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and the Tampa Bay Lightning are set to face off against Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in an Eastern Conference tilt. The first puck will drop at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 2, and you’ll be able to watch it live on NBC.
Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Rangers Odds
This matchup’s moneyline and Over/Under odds have not been posted by bookmakers yet.
Tampa Bay is 38-13 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 15.8 units this year. Through 51 regular season matches, 27 of its games have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and just two have pushed. As the away team this season, the Bolts are 18-8 SU.
Tampa Bay comes into the match up with the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s scored on 29.8 percent of its extra-man opportunities this season. On the other hand, it has the third-best penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 84.2 percent of its penalties..
Averaging 30.4 saves per game with a .925 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (21-9-2) has been the top option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. Vasilevskiy played last night, however, so Tampa Bay may opt to rest him and instead turn to Louis Domingue (16-4 record, .905 save percentage, 2.99 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, New York is 22-28 straight up (SU) and has netted 0.8 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 50 regular season matches, 26 of its games have gone over the total, while 23 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team is 13-12 SU at home this year.
The Rangers have converted on just 21.3 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 28th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 76.5 percent of all penalties.
Henrik Lundqvist (29.2 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Rangers. Lundqvist has 16 wins, 20 losses, and seven overtime losses and has recorded a pedestrian 3.01 goals against average and a poor .908 save percentage this year.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. New York Rangers Betting Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The Lightning are 4-0 in games decided by a shootout this season while the Rangers are 5-2 in shootouts.
- For both of these clubs, the game went over the total in three of their last five matchups.
- Over New York’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-3 in those games).
- This game features two of the more aggressive defenses in the league. Tampa Bay skaters have accounted for the league’s seventh-most hits per game (25.2) and the Rangers have recorded the seventh-most (26.0).
