New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 3/8/2018

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The New York Rangers travel to Amalie Arena to play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, March 8, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Rangers at +239 and the Lightning at -270.

New York has a record of 30-31-6 this season and on the road they have a record of 12-18-2-2. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 189 goals and given up 212 goals for a point differential of -23. For the season they have an ATS record of 30-37-0 and an over/under record of 34-31-0. Tampa Bay has a record of 46-17-4 including 23-6-2-0 at home this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 245 goals and surrendered 186 for a goal differential of +59. Their record against the spread is 46-21-0 while their over/under record is 43-23-0.

Valuable New York Rangers Betting Trends

The New York Rangers are 30-37-0 straight up this year

The New York Rangers are 34-31-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 46-21-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 43-23-0 against the over/under this season

Key New York Rangers Injuries

02/15/18 D Steven Kampfer Hand IR (02/11)
02/10/18 GO Ondrej Pavelec Knee IR (02/08)
01/19/18 D Kevin Shattenkirk Knee IR (01/18)

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

03/06/18 D Ryan McDonagh Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs NY Rangers
01/22/18 LW Ondrej Palat Lower Body IR (01/20)

Player Spotlight

Henrik Lundqvist has 25 wins and 22 losses this season in net for the Rangers. He has 1,782 shots against him and he's given up 149 goals. He's made 1,633 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Pavel Buchnevich has accumulated 36 total points this season for the Rangers. He has 14 goals this year with 117 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 14.8 minutes played per game. Mats Zuccarello averages 18.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 7% by scoring 10 goals on 141 shots. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has scored 86 total points this year for the Lightning. He has 33 goals this season with 232 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 53 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 39 wins and 12 losses this year in goal for the Lightning. He has 1,768 shots against him and he's surrendered 132 goals. He's made 1,636 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Brayden Point averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 15% by scoring 27 goals on 176 shots. He has 30 assists, giving him a total of 57 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Rangers have allowed 204 power play opportunities and have given up 35 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83% this year. That is 7th in the NHL. They average 31 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.96% for the season. They allow 35 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 12th in the league. The Rangers has 66 total points this season, ranking 24th in the NHL in offense. They are 20th in the league with 189 goals while they've given up 212 goals, which is 7th overall. They have had 199 power play opportunities and scored 41 goals on those chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Lightning are 1st with 245 goals scored while they are 22nd in the NHL with 186 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.33%. They give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%, putting them in 4th place in the league. The Lightning have a total of 96 points this year, which is 1st in the NHL. They have 55 power play goals on 227 opportunities for a percentage of 24%. That ranks their power play unit 3rd. They've allowed 221 power play opportunities and have given up 50 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, which is 24th overall.

Advanced Statistics

New York is 31st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.2%, as they've attempted 3,716 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,162 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.7% as they have 2,854 attempts while they have given up 3,132 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 25th in the league. The Rangers start possessions in the offensive zone 51.2% of the time, which is 15th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.8% for the season. That is 19th overall in the NHL. They have 1,973 face-off wins compared to 1,951 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.3%. That ranks them 15th in the league. On defense New York has 1,434 hits and they have blocked 1,030 shots from the opposition, putting them 9th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning are 12th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.8% for the season, which is 25th in the NHL. They have 1,969 face-off wins compared to 2,178 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.5%. That is 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,380 hits and they have blocked 942 shots from the opposition, which is 21st in the league. Tampa Bay is 13th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.1% as they've attempted 4,072 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 3,892 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.9% ranks 15th as they have 3,055 attempts while they have given up 2,950 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay -270

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