Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and the Colorado Avalanche will do battle against Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov, and the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in an East-West showdown. The first puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 8, and fans at home are able to catch the game live on Altitude Sports & Entertainment.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
With a moneyline of -150, Tampa Bay enters the matchup as the substantial favorite. The line for the Avalanche is standing at +130, and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 7 goals (-120 to bet the over, +100 for the under).
Earning 7.5 units for moneyline bettors, Tampa Bay is 22-8 straight up (SU) overall in the 2018-19 season. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 54-28 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Among its 30 games this season, 15 have gone over the total, while 13 have gone under and just two have pushed. Thus far, the team’s 12-4 SU at home.
The Lightning have converted on 27.9 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s good enough for fourth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is rated ninth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 82.5 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 28.4 saves per game with a .903 save percentage, Louis Domingue (12-4) has been the top option in goal for Tampa Bay this season. If the Bolts decide to rest him, however, Tampa Bay may go with Andrei Vasilevskiy (9-4-4 record, .927 save percentage, 2.29 goals against average).
In the other locker room, Colorado is 17-12 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 3.9 units this year. Through 29 regular season outings, 15 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under the total and none have pushed. The Avalanche are 11-7 SU as a road team this season.
The Avalanche enter the matchup with the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as they’ve found the net on 30.9 percent of their extra-man chances this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 15th overall and it’s successfully defended 80.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Semyon Varlamov (2.43 goals against average and .923 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Colorado. Varlamov is averaging 29.2 saves per game and owns a 10-9-3 record.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner \u2013 Lightning, O/U \u2013 Under
Betting Trends
- Over Tampa Bay’s last ten outings, five of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-1 in those games).
- The Avalanche are 6-2 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 10-5 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Tampa Bay might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 10-3 in games decided by one goal, while Colorado is 3-8 in such games.
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in three of their last five matchups.
- Colorado skaters have averaged 6.4 giveaways over its last five home games, right in line with its season average of 6.7 giveaways per game (ranked third in the NHL).
- Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 7.4 giveaways over its last five home games, its season average of 7.9 giveaways per game (the 8th-fewest in the NHL).
- The Bolts this season have recorded the eighth-most hits in the NHL (24.3 per game).
