Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers NHL Picks & Predictions 12/1/2018

Saturday, December 1, 2018

BB&T Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to BB&T Center to play the Florida Panthers on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -140 and the Panthers at +115.

Tampa Bay has a record of 18-7-1 this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 98 goals and given up 75 goals for a point differential of +23. For the season they have an ATS record of 17-8-0 and an over/under record of 12-11-0. Florida is 9-10-4 this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 75 goals and surrendered 84 for a goal differential of -9. Their record against the spread is 9-14-0 while their over/under record is 11-10-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 17-8-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 12-11-0 against the over/under this season

Important Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 9-14-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 11-10-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

11/30/18 LW Adam Erne Illness is questionable Saturday vs Florida
11/30/18 D Ryan McDonagh Upper Body left last game, is questionable Saturday vs Florida
11/29/18 D Anton Stralman Upper Body is out indefinitely
11/15/18 GO Andrei Vasilevskiy Foot is out indefinitely

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

11/29/18 GO Roberto Luongo Lower Body is downgraded to doubtful Friday vs Buffalo
11/15/18 C Micheal Haley Personal is out indefinitely
10/23/18 C Derek MacKenzie Shoulder is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Nikita Kucherov has accumulated 35 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 10 goals this year with 68 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 25 assists on the season and averages 18.5 minutes played per game. Brayden Point averages 17.7 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 26% by scoring 18 goals on 69 shots. He has 15 assists, giving him a total of 33 points on the season. Louis Domingue has 9 wins and 4 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 414 shots against him and he's given up 42 goals. He's made 372 saves for a save percentage of 90%.

Player Spotlight

Aleksander Barkov has scored 21 total points this year for the Panthers. He has 8 goals this season with 63 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 13%. He has a total of 13 assists on the season and averages 22.7 minutes played per game. Evgeni Dadonov averages 19.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 10 goals on 63 shots. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 23 points on the season. James Reimer has 4 wins and 6 losses this year in goal for the Panthers. He has 387 shots against him and he's surrendered 41 goals. He's made 346 saves for a save percentage of 89%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have 37 total points this season, which ranks them 1st in the NHL. They are 1st in the league in goals scored with 98 while they've given up 75 goals, ranking them 18th overall. They have had 95 power play opportunities and have scored 25 goals on those chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 6th in the NHL. The Lightning have allowed 91 power play opportunities and have given up 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, putting them 11th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.45% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%. That puts them 10th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers are 27th in the NHL with a total of 22 points this year. They have 23 power play goals on 89 opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That ranks them 7th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 72 power play opportunities and have given up 17 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%. That is 23rd in the NHL. As a team, the Panthers are 17th in the league with 75 goals scored while they've given up 84 goals, which is 5th overall. They average 36 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.07%. As a team they give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 89%. That is 30th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.1%, as they've attempted 1,548 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,480 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 50.9% as they have 1,168 attempts while they have given up 1,125 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 11th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 50.9% of the time, which is 14th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.1% for the season. That is 18th overall in the NHL. They have 777 face-off wins compared to 777 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50%. That ranks them 16th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 640 hits and they have blocked 355 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Panthers are 11th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.1% for the season, which is 20th in the NHL. They have 742 face-off wins compared to 739 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 14th in the league. On defense Florida has 459 hits and they have blocked 310 shots from the opposition, which is 29th in the league. Florida is 6th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 52.7% as they've attempted 1,426 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,281 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 53.3% ranks 5th as they have 1,108 attempts while they have given up 971 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Florida +115

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