Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild NHL Picks & Predictions 10/20/2018

Saturday, October 20, 2018

Xcel Energy Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Xcel Energy Center to play the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, October 20, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -160 and the Wild at +144.

Tampa Bay has a record of 4-1-0 this season. They are 4th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 18 goals and given up 10 goals for a point differential of +8. For the season they have an ATS record of 4-1-0 and an over/under record of 1-4-0. Minnesota is 2-2-2 this season. They are 6th in the Central Division. They have scored 14 goals and surrendered 19 for a goal differential of -5. Their record against the spread is 2-4-0 while their over/under record is 2-3-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 4-1-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 1-4-0 against the over/under this season

Important Minnesota Wild Betting Trends

The Minnesota Wild are 2-4-0 straight up this year

The Minnesota Wild are 2-3-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Minnesota Wild Injuries

10/19/18 LW Marcus Foligno Illness is questionable Friday vs Dallas
10/19/18 C Matt Hendricks Leg is out 2-4 weeks
10/18/18 C Joel Eriksson Ek Upper Body IR (10/11)
10/18/18 C Mikko Koivu Personal is questionable Friday vs Dallas
10/04/18 C Luke Kunin Knee is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Yanni Gourde has accumulated 5 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 2 goals this year with 8 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 25%. He has a total of 3 assists on the season and averages 17 minutes played per game. Brayden Point averages 17.6 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 33% by scoring 4 goals on 12 shots. He has 1 assist, giving him a total of 5 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 3 wins and 1 loss this season in net for the Lightning. He has 131 shots against him and he's given up 6 goals. He's made 125 saves for a save percentage of 95%.

Player Spotlight

Jason Zucker has scored 5 total points this year for the Wild. He has 3 goals this season with 22 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 2 assists on the season and averages 18.5 minutes played per game. Zach Parise averages 18.7 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 5% by scoring 1 goal on 19 shots. He has 6 assists, giving him a total of 7 points on the season. Devan Dubnyk has 2 wins and 1 loss this year in goal for the Wild. He has 199 shots against him and he's surrendered 12 goals. He's made 187 saves for a save percentage of 94%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have 8 total points this season, which ranks them 9th in the NHL. They are 20th in the league in goals scored with 18 while they've given up 10 goals, ranking them 30th overall. They have had 20 power play opportunities and have scored 5 goals on those chances for a percentage of 25%. That is 12th in the NHL. The Lightning have allowed 23 power play opportunities and have given up no goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 100%, putting them 1st in the league when short-handed. They average 30 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.84% for the season. They allow 35 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 94%. That puts them 2nd in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Wild are 22nd in the NHL with a total of 6 points this year. They have 3 power play goals on 18 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks them 21st in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 26 power play opportunities and have given up 5 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%. That is 14th in the NHL. As a team, the Wild are 26th in the league with 14 goals scored while they've given up 19 goals, which is 18th overall. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 7.82%. As a team they give up 38 shots per game and have a save percentage of 92%. That is 8th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.5%, as they've attempted 299 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 293 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49% as they have 215 attempts while they have given up 224 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 17th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 47% of the time, which is 23rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 53% for the season. That is 9th overall in the NHL. They have 151 face-off wins compared to 157 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49%. That ranks them 23rd in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 123 hits and they have blocked 69 shots from the opposition, putting them 27th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Wild are 19th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 49.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 50.7% for the season, which is 13th in the NHL. They have 203 face-off wins compared to 205 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 49.8%. That is 18th in the league. On defense Minnesota has 116 hits and they have blocked 93 shots from the opposition, which is 14th in the league. Minnesota is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 42.9% as they've attempted 302 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 402 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 43.6% ranks 28th as they have 239 attempts while they have given up 309 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Minnesota +144

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