Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 10/6/2018

Saturday, October 6, 2018

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Florida Panthers travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, October 6, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Panthers at +160 and the Lightning at -220.

Florida had a record of 44-30-8 last season and on the road they had a record of 17-19-5-1. They finished 4th in the Atlantic Division. They scored 248 goals and gave up 246 goals for a point differential of +2. For the season they had an ATS record of 44-38-0 and an over/under record of 39-40-0. Tampa Bay finished with a record of 54-23-5 including 18-8-2-1 at home last season. They were 1st in the Atlantic Division. They scored 296 goals and surrendered 236 for a goal differential of +60. Their record against the spread was 65-34-0 while their over/under record was 55-38-0.

Valuable Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers were 44-38-0 straight up last year

The Florida Panthers were 39-40-0 against the over/under last season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning were 65-34-0 straight up last year

The Tampa Bay Lightning were 55-38-0 against the over/under last season

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

No key injuries to report

Player Spotlight

Roberto Luongo had 18 wins and 11 losses last season in net for the Panthers. He had 1,143 shots against him and he gave up 81 goals. He made 1,062 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Jonathan Huberdeau accumulated 69 total points last season for the Panthers. He had 27 goals last year with 204 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He had a total of 42 assists on the season and averaged 19.2 minutes played per game. Vincent Trocheck averaged 21.4 minutes of ice time per game last year. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 11% by scoring 31 goals on 287 shots. He had 44 assists giving him a total of 75 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov scored 100 total points last year for the Lightning. He had 39 goals last season with 279 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He had a total of 61 assists on the season and averaged 19.8 minutes played per game. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 44 wins and 17 losses last year in goal for the Lightning. He had 2,075 shots against him and he surrendered 167 goals. He made 1,908 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Brayden Point averaged 19.6 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 32 goals on 217 shots. He had 34 assists giving him a total of 66 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers allowed 227 power play opportunities and gave up 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80% last year. That was 16th in the NHL. They averaged 34 shots per game and as a team shot 8.79% for the season. They allowed 35 shots to their opposition per contest and had a team save percentage of 91%, which was ranked 6th in the league. The Panthers had 96 total points last season, ranking 16th in the NHL in offense. They were 14th in the league with 248 goals while giving up 246 goals, which was 14th overall. They had 249 power play opportunities and scored 47 goals on those chances for a percentage of 19%. That was 21st in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Lightning were 1st with 296 goals scored while they were 19th in the NHL with 236 goals allowed last year. They averaged 33 shots per contest and had a team shooting percentage of 11.04%. They gave up 33 shots per game and had a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 8th place in the league. The Lightning had a total of 113 points last year, which was 3rd in the NHL. They had 66 power play goals on 276 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranked their power play unit 3rd. They allowed 267 power play opportunities and gave up 64 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, which was 28th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Florida was 16th in the NHL in Corsi percentage last year with 49.9%, as they attempted 4,940 shots on net at full strength while they gave up 4,959 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 50.4% as they had 3,852 attempts while they gave up 3,787 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 15th in the league. The Panthers started possessions in the offensive zone 47.4% of the time, which was 30th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 52.6% for the season. That was 2nd overall in the NHL. They had 2,657 face-off wins compared to 2,579 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 50.7%. That ranked them 11th in the league. On defense Florida had 1,653 hits and they blocked 1,172 shots from the opposition, putting them 23rd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay was 8th in the NHL in Corsi percentage last year with 51.3%, as they attempted 4,952 shots on net at full strength while they gave up 4,709 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage was 51.2% as they had 3,764 attempts while they gave up 3,582 shots on the defensive end. That ranked them 10th in the league. The Lightning started possessions in the offensive zone 52.9% of the time, which was 6th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage was at 47.1% for the season. That was 25th overall in the NHL. They had 2,441 face-off wins compared to 2,621 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage was 48.2%. That ranked them 27th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay had 1,728 hits and they blocked 1,127 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -220

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