Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins NHL Picks & Predictions 3/29/2018

Thursday, March 29, 2018

TD Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to TD Garden to play the Boston Bruins on Thursday, March 29, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -135 and the Bruins at +122.

Tampa Bay has a record of 51-21-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 24-12-2-2. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 273 goals and given up 217 goals for a point differential of +56. For the season they have an ATS record of 51-25-0 and an over/under record of 47-28-0. Boston is 47-17-11 including 25-7-5-0 at home this season. They are 2nd in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 249 goals and surrendered 194 for a goal differential of +55. Their record against the spread is 47-28-0 while their over/under record is 34-40-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 51-25-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 47-28-0 against the over/under this season

Important Boston Bruins Betting Trends

The Boston Bruins are 47-28-0 straight up this year

The Boston Bruins are 34-40-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

03/28/18 C Steven Stamkos Lower Body is upgraded to probable Thursday vs Boston
03/27/18 D Jake Dotchin Illness is "?" Thursday vs Boston
03/26/18 LW Adam Erne Lower Body left last game, is "?" Thursday vs Boston
03/20/18 RW Ryan Callahan Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Boston Bruins Injuries

03/27/18 RW David Backes Laceration is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
03/27/18 D Matt Grzelcyk Upper Body injured last game, is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
03/27/18 D Zdeno Chara Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
03/27/18 LW Rick Nash Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
03/18/18 LW Jake DeBrusk Upper Body is out indefinitely
03/06/18 D Charlie McAvoy Lower Body is out indefinitely
02/01/18 LW Anders Bjork Shoulder IR (01/30)

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has accumulated 96 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 38 goals this year with 267 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 58 assists on the season and averages 19.8 minutes played per game. Brayden Point averages 19.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 28 goals on 202 shots. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 62 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 42 wins and 15 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 1,956 shots against him and he's given up 155 goals. He's made 1,801 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

David Pastrnak has scored 74 total points this year for the Bruins. He has 31 goals this season with 219 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 43 assists on the season and averages 18 minutes played per game. Brad Marchand averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by scoring 33 goals on 165 shots. He has 49 assists, giving him a total of 82 points on the season. Tuukka Rask has 32 wins and 11 losses this year in goal for the Bruins. He has 1,357 shots against him and he's surrendered 111 goals. He's made 1,246 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have 106 total points this season, which ranks them 2nd in the NHL. They are 1st in the league in goals scored with 273 while they've given up 217 goals, ranking them 19th overall. They have had 255 power play opportunities and have scored 63 goals on those chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 2nd in the NHL. The Lightning have allowed 250 power play opportunities and have given up 60 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, putting them 26th in the league when short-handed. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.06% for the season. They allow 33 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 Bruins are 3rd in the NHL with a total of 105 points this year. They have 55 power play goals on 241 opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That ranks them 6th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 226 power play opportunities and have given up 39 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 5th in the NHL. As a team, the Bruins are 6th in the league with 249 goals scored while they've given up 194 goals, which is 29th overall. They average 33 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.11%. As a team they give up 29 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%. That is 9th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.3%, as they've attempted 4,614 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,375 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.2% as they have 3,491 attempts while they have given up 3,325 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 14th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 52.9% of the time, which is 7th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.1% for the season. That is 27th overall in the NHL. They have 2,254 face-off wins compared to 2,435 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.1%. That ranks them 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,575 hits and they have blocked 1,050 shots from the opposition, putting them 26th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Bruins start possessions in the offensive zone 55% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 45% for the year. That ranks them 3rd and 29th respectively in the NHL. They have 2,352 face-off wins as opposed to 2,299 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.6%. That is 9th in the league. On defense Boston has 1,779 hits and they've blocked 995 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 30th in blocked shots. Boston is ranked 2nd in Corsi percentage with 52.7% as they've tried 4,498 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,035 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 2nd in the NHL at 52.8%, as they have 3,400 shots while they've given up 3,040 attempts on defense.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Boston +122

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