New Jersey Devils at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 2/17/2018

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New Jersey Devils travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, February 17, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Devils at +210 and the Lightning at -235.

New Jersey has a record of 29-20-8 this season and on the road they have a record of 13-10-5-3. They are 4th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 173 goals and given up 176 goals for a point differential of -3. For the season they have an ATS record of 29-28-0 and an over/under record of 31-25-0. Tampa Bay is 39-16-3 including 20-5-1-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 208 goals and surrendered 155 for a goal differential of +53. Their record against the spread is 39-19-0 while their over/under record is 36-22-0.

Valuable New Jersey Devils Betting Trends

The New Jersey Devils are 29-28-0 straight up this year

The New Jersey Devils are 31-25-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 39-19-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 36-22-0 against the over/under this season

Key New Jersey Devils Injuries

02/15/18 C Brian Boyle Shoulder is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
02/15/18 C John Quenneville Knee is "?" Saturday vs Tampa Bay
02/09/18 GO Cory Schneider Groin IR (01/22)
01/25/18 LW Marcus Johansson Concussion IR (01/23)
01/22/18 C Brian Gibbons Thumb IR (01/20)

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

12/30/17 GO Peter Budaj Leg IR (12/29)
01/22/18 LW Ondrej Palat Lower Body IR (01/20)

Player Spotlight

Jesper Bratt has accumulated 33 total points this season for the Devils. He has 12 goals this year with 78 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 16.2 minutes played per game. Nico Hischier averages 16.3 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 8% by scoring 10 goals on 130 shots. He has 24 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the season. Keith Kinkaid has 11 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Devils. He has 570 shots against him and he's given up 62 goals. He's made 508 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has scored 72 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 30 goals this season with 198 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 42 assists on the season and averages 20.2 minutes played per game. Brayden Point averages 19.5 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 20 goals on 147 shots. He has 28 assists, giving him a total of 48 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 33 wins and 11 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 1,476 shots against him and he's surrendered 107 goals. He's made 1,369 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Devils have 64 total points this season, which ranks them 18th in the NHL. They are 15th in the league in goals scored with 168 while they've given up 174 goals, ranking them 10th overall. They have had 179 power play opportunities and have scored 35 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 18th in the NHL. The Devils have allowed 190 power play opportunities and have given up 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 82%, putting them 14th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 9.48% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 22nd in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning are 1st in the NHL with a total of 79 points this year. They have 47 power play goals on 198 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranks them 2nd in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 186 power play opportunities and have given up 41 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%. That is 25th in the NHL. As a team, the Lightning are 1st in the league with 204 goals scored while they've given up 154 goals, which is 24th overall. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.08%. As a team they give up 32 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 6th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

New Jersey has a Corsi percentage of 49.1% as they've tried 3,145 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,263 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 22nd in Corsi percentage. They are 17th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 49.8% as they have 2,440 shots while they've given up 2,457 attempts on defense. The Devils start possessions in the offensive zone 49.4% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.6% for the year. That puts them 21st and 10th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,634 face-off wins as opposed to 1,822 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.3%. That is 30th overall in the NHL. On defense New Jersey has 1,188 hits and they've blocked 806 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 20th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 52.8% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.2% for the year. That ranks them 9th and 26th respectively in the NHL. They have 1,681 face-off wins as opposed to 1,855 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.5%. That is 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,152 hits and they've blocked 804 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 21st in blocked shots. Tampa Bay is ranked 9th in Corsi percentage with 51.5% as they've tried 3,472 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 3,266 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 15th in the NHL at 51.4%, as they have 2,604 shots while they've given up 2,462 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -235

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