Tampa Bay Lightning at New York Islanders NHL Picks & Predictions 3/22/2018

Thursday, March 22, 2018

Barclays Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Barclays Center to play the New York Islanders on Thursday, March 22, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -250 and the Islanders at +200.

Tampa Bay has a record of 50-19-4 this season and on the road they have a record of 23-11-2-2. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 264 goals and given up 205 goals for a point differential of +59. For the season they have an ATS record of 49-23-0 and an over/under record of 45-26-0. New York is 31-32-10 including 17-14-4-1 at home this season. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 235 goals and surrendered 263 for a goal differential of -28. Their record against the spread is 30-42-0 while their over/under record is 44-25-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 49-23-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 45-26-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 30-42-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 44-25-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

03/20/18 RW Ryan Callahan Upper Body left last game, is downgraded to doubtful Thursday vs NY Islanders and Saturday vs New Jersey

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/18/17 D Calvin de Haan Shoulder IR (12/16)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Shoulder IR (11/06)
03/20/18 D Brandon Davidson Undisclosed is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
03/20/18 RW Cal Clutterbuck Head is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
03/20/18 D Johnny Boychuk Facial injured last game, is "?" Thursday vs Tampa Bay
02/24/18 C Alan Quine Lower Body IR (02/22)
02/19/18 GO Thomas Greiss Lower Body IR (02/16)
02/08/18 D Scott Mayfield Lower Body IR (02/06)
01/20/18 LW Shane Prince Upper Body IR (01/18)

Player Spotlight

Brayden Point has accumulated 58 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 27 goals this year with 194 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 31 assists on the season and averages 19.7 minutes played per game. Nikita Kucherov averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 37 goals on 257 shots. He has 57 assists, giving him a total of 94 points on the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 41 wins and 14 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 1,884 shots against him and he's given up 147 goals. He's made 1,737 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Anders Lee has scored 56 total points this year for the Islanders. He has 36 goals this season with 187 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 20 assists on the season and averages 17.3 minutes played per game. Josh Bailey averages 18 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 18 goals on 138 shots. He has 49 assists, giving him a total of 67 points on the season. Jaroslav Halak has 18 wins and 24 losses this year in goal for the Islanders. He has 1,637 shots against him and he's surrendered 154 goals. He's made 1,483 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have 104 total points this season, which ranks them 2nd in the NHL. They are 1st in the league in goals scored with 264 while they've given up 205 goals, ranking them 22nd overall. They have had 247 power play opportunities and have scored 59 goals on those chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 2nd in the NHL. The Lightning have allowed 240 power play opportunities and have given up 56 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, putting them 26th in the league when short-handed. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 11.11% for the season. They allow 33 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 92%. That puts them 6th in the league in stopping the puck.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders are 22nd in the NHL with a total of 72 points this year. They have 49 power play goals on 225 opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That ranks them 8th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 208 power play opportunities and have given up 52 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%. That is 31st in the NHL. As a team, the Islanders are 9th in the league with 235 goals scored while they've given up 263 goals, which is 1st overall. They average 31 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.33%. As a team they give up 36 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%. That is 28th in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay has a Corsi percentage of 51.4% as they've tried 4,450 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,202 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 14th in Corsi percentage. They are 14th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 51.3% as they have 3,360 shots while they've given up 3,192 attempts on defense. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 52.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 47.4% for the year. That puts them 6th and 27th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,158 face-off wins as opposed to 2,343 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 47.9%. That is 29th overall in the NHL. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,529 hits and they've blocked 1,010 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 24th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Islanders start possessions in the offensive zone 47% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 53% for the year. That ranks them 31st and 2nd respectively in the NHL. They have 2,135 face-off wins as opposed to 2,271 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.5%. That is 24th in the league. On defense New York has 1,650 hits and they've blocked 1,114 attempts from opposing offenses, ranking them 11th in blocked shots. New York is ranked 29th in Corsi percentage with 47.3% as they've tried 4,173 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,642 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. Their Fenwick percentage is 29th in the NHL at 46.6%, as they have 3,073 shots while they've given up 3,528 attempts on defense.

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

Josh's Pick: Take New York +200

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