Two of the strongest clubs in their respective conferences, the Winnipeg Jets and the Tampa Bay Lightning face off at Amalie Arena. This East-West matchup will get started at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 5 and it can be watched live on The Sports Network.
Winnipeg Jets at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Winnipeg (+165) is playing the role of underdog to Tampa Bay (-190), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -125 for the under and +105 for the over.
The Lightning are 50-16 straight up (SU) and have earned moneyline bettors 24.3 units this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 54-28 record from the 2017-18 season campaign. Among the team’s 66 games this season, 33 have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under and just three have pushed. The team is 27-7 SU at home this season.
Tampa Bay currently has the second-strongest power-play unit in the NHL, as it’s scored on 29.0 percent of their extra-man opportunities this year. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated first overall, and it’s successfully killed off 86.0 percent of all penalties.
Tampa Bay, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 5.0 per game over its past five contests. The team has had to kill penalties for 10.0 minutes per game over its last five home outings.
Sporting a .931 save percentage and 30.5 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (30-11-4) has been the principal option in goal for the Lightning this year. If they choose to rest him, however, the team may turn to Louis Domingue (19-5-5 record, .908 save percentage, 2.92 goals against average).
The Bolts will continue looking for leadership from Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Kucherov (106 points) has tallied 31 goals and 75 assists and has recorded two or more points in 30 different games this year. Point has 36 goals and 44 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 43 contests.
On the other hand, Winnipeg is 39-26 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.3 units this season. A total of 32 of its outings have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under the total and just seven have pushed. Winnipeg’s 17-14 SU as the visiting team this season.
Winnipeg has converted on 24.9 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 23rd overall and it’s successfully defended 78.8 percent of all penalties.
Winnipeg’s players have been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 5.4 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays 8.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Connor Hellebuyck (.911 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck is averaging 29.8 saves per game and owns a 28-21-2 record.
Blake Wheeler (17 goals, 63 assists) has been one of the top offensive facilitators for the visiting Jets.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The under has hit in three of Tampa Bay’s last five games.
- Winnipeg has managed 29.2 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Tampa Bay is averaging 34.2 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Power-play chances could be critical in tonight’s game. The Jets are 18-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 25-17 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Lightning are 16-9 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 25-14 in games where they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Two of Tampa Bay’s past 10 contests have gone to a shootout. The team’s 2-0 in those games and 6-1 overall in shootouts this season.
- Tampa Bay is ranked 22nd in the NHL this season with 6.9 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended upward recently, as the team has managed 8.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 10.8 takeaways over its last five.
- Winnipeg is ranked 16th in the NHL with 7.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower recently, however, as it’s created 6.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 6.8 takeaways over its last five.
