Tampa Bay Lightning at Vancouver Canucks NHL Picks & Predictions 12/18/2018

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Rogers Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Rogers Arena to play the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, December 18, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Lightning at -245 and the Canucks at +180.

Tampa Bay has a record of 25-7-2 this season. They are 1st in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 138 goals and given up 97 goals for a point differential of +41. For the season they have an ATS record of 25-8-0 and an over/under record of 17-14-0. Vancouver has a record of 16-16-4 this year. They are 6th in the Pacific Division. They've scored 110 goals and surrendered 118 for a goal differential of -8. Their record against the spread is 15-20-0 while their over/under record is 18-17-0.

Valuable Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 25-8-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 17-14-0 against the over/under this season

Important Vancouver Canucks Betting Trends

The Vancouver Canucks are 15-20-0 straight up this year

The Vancouver Canucks are 18-17-0 against the over/under this season

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

12/16/18 RW Mathieu Joseph Lower Body is questionable Tuesday vs Vancouver
11/29/18 D Anton Stralman Upper Body is out indefinitely

Key Vancouver Canucks Injuries

10/25/18 LW Sven Baertschi Upper Body IR (10/25)

Player Spotlight

Andrei Vasilevskiy has 10 wins and 3 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 503 shots against him and he's given up 36 goals. He's made 467 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Brayden Point has accumulated 43 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 21 goals this year with 89 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 24%. He has a total of 22 assists on the season and averages 17.9 minutes played per game. Nikita Kucherov averages 18.5 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 16% by scoring 14 goals on 88 shots. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 48 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Bo Horvat has scored 32 total points this year for the Canucks. He has 16 goals this season with 94 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 17%. He has a total of 16 assists on the season and averages 20.9 minutes played per game. Jacob Markstrom has 13 wins and 9 losses this year in goal for the Canucks. He has 790 shots against him and he's surrendered 76 goals. He's made 714 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Elias Pettersson averages 18.2 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 28% by scoring 17 goals on 61 shots. He has 18 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have allowed 113 power play opportunities and have given up 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83% this year. That is 4th in the NHL. They average 33 shots per game and as a team shoot 12.23% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 7th in the league. The Lightning have 52 total points this season, ranking 1st in the NHL in offense. They are 1st in the league with 138 goals while they've given up 97 goals, which is 21st overall. They have had 118 power play opportunities and scored 36 goals on those chances for a percentage of 31%. That is 2nd in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Canucks are 10th with 110 goals scored while they are 3rd in the NHL with 118 goals allowed this year. They average 28 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 10.88%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 24th place in the league. The Canucks have a total of 36 points this year, which is 18th in the NHL. They have 22 power play goals on 115 opportunities for a percentage of 19%. That ranks their power play unit 19th. They've allowed 124 power play opportunities and have given up 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, which is 22nd overall.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.5%, as they've attempted 2,047 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,924 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 51.6% as they have 1,553 attempts while they have given up 1,457 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 10th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time, which is 15th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the season. That is 16th overall in the NHL. They have 1,040 face-off wins compared to 1,019 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.5%. That ranks them 13th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 840 hits and they have blocked 467 shots from the opposition, putting them 14th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Canucks are 25th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 48.4% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 51.6% for the season, which is 9th in the NHL. They have 1,035 face-off wins compared to 1,115 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.1%. That is 25th in the league. On defense Vancouver has 776 hits and they have blocked 535 shots from the opposition, which is 2nd in the league. Vancouver is 27th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 46.4% as they've attempted 1,818 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,102 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 46.9% ranks 27th as they have 1,382 attempts while they have given up 1,567 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Vancouver +180

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