Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 3/17/2018

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Boston Bruins travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, March 17, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Bruins at +149 and the Lightning at -165.

Boston has a record of 44-17-8 this season and on the road they have a record of 19-10-4-2. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 232 goals and given up 179 goals for a point differential of +53. For the season they have an ATS record of 44-25-0 and an over/under record of 32-36-0. Tampa Bay is 48-18-4 including 25-7-2-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 257 goals and surrendered 198 for a goal differential of +59. Their record against the spread is 48-22-0 while their over/under record is 45-24-0.

Valuable Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 44-25-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 32-36-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 48-22-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 45-24-0 against the over/under this season

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

03/16/18 LW Jake DeBrusk Undisclosed is downgraded to OUT Saturday vs Tampa Bay
03/15/18 D Zdeno Chara Undisclosed is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
03/06/18 D Charlie McAvoy Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/27/18 C Patrice Bergeron Foot is out indefinitely
02/01/18 LW Anders Bjork Shoulder IR (01/30)

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

01/22/18 LW Ondrej Palat Lower Body IR (01/20)

Player Spotlight

Brad Marchand has accumulated 72 total points this season for the Bruins. He has 30 goals this year with 148 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 20%. He has a total of 42 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. David Pastrnak averages 17.9 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 27 goals on 193 shots. He has 41 assists, giving him a total of 68 points on the season. Tuukka Rask has 29 wins and 11 losses this season in net for the Bruins. He has 1,242 shots against him and he's given up 103 goals. He's made 1,139 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Brayden Point has scored 57 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 27 goals this season with 188 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 30 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. Nikita Kucherov averages 20 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 34 goals on 245 shots. He has 57 assists, giving him a total of 91 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 40 wins and 13 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 1,827 shots against him and he's surrendered 141 goals. He's made 1,686 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins have 96 total points this season, which ranks them 3rd in the NHL. They are 6th in the league in goals scored with 232 while they've given up 179 goals, ranking them 29th overall. They have had 222 power play opportunities and have scored 48 goals on those chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 7th in the NHL. The Bruins have allowed 212 power play opportunities and have given up 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 11th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 10.18% for the season. They allow 29 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 7th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning are 2nd in the NHL with a total of 100 points this year. They have 58 power play goals on 239 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranks them 2nd in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 229 power play opportunities and have given up 53 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%. That is 26th in the NHL. As a team, the Lightning are 1st in the league with 257 goals scored while they've given up 198 goals, which is 22nd overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.23%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 6th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Boston has a Corsi percentage of 52.8% as they've tried 4,155 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,712 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 2nd in Corsi percentage. They are 2nd in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 52.9% as they have 3,145 shots while they've given up 2,801 attempts on defense. The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 55.3% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 44.7% for the year. That puts them 3rd and 29th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,181 face-off wins as opposed to 2,130 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.6%. That is 9th overall in the NHL. On defense Boston has 1,650 hits and they've blocked 911 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 30th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 52.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.6% for the year. That ranks them 12th and 25th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,081 face-off wins as opposed to 2,267 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.9%. That is 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,443 hits and they've blocked 975 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 25th in blocked shots. Tampa Bay is ranked 14th in Corsi percentage with 51.4% as they've tried 4,281 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,042 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 14th in the NHL at 51.2%, as they have 3,223 shots while they've given up 3,067 attempts on defense.

Who will win tonight's Bruins/Lightning NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -165

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald