Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning - 12/29/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Detroit Red Wings vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Date: Sunday, December 29, 2019

Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

TV: FSDT/SunS

Odds/Point Spread: Red Wings (+109) Lightning (-120)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings (9-26-3, 8th in the Atlantic Division) go to Amalie Arena on Sunday where they'll meet the Tampa Bay Lightning (18-13-4, 6th in the Atlantic Division). The Lightning open this matchup at -120 while the Red Wings are priced at +109. The O/U has been set at 6. The Red Wings are covering 23.7% of the time, having gone 9-29 SU. The Lightning are covering 50.0% of the time, going 17-17 straight up.

The Detroit Red Wings head into this game holding a record of 9 victories and 26 defeats, putting them at 8th in the Atlantic Division. So far this season, they have racked up a total of 82 goals which ranks 16th in the Eastern Conference and 31st in the league. Their goal differential is -67, putting them at 31st in the league. The Red Wings currently have a total of 21 pts, which ranks 31st in the league and 16th in the conference. Regarding shots at the opposition, they currently have a total of 1,079 which ranks 15th in the Eastern Conference and 30th in the league. As a group, Detroit has racked up a total of 763 hits which means they have an average of 20.1 per contest. They currently have a total of 409 blocks for the year. Looking after the net for Detroit is Jimmy Howard from Laval, Quebec. He is 35 years old and has totaled 776 minutes minding the goal this year. Howard is conceding 4.02 GAA which has him placed 31st among Eastern Conference goalies and 64th in the NHL. For the year, he's allowed 52 goals. He holds a save percentage of .887 which has him placed 31st among Eastern Conference goalies.

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The Detroit Red Wings will look for better times on the ice after their 5 - 2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes in their previous contest. The Red Wings could have played much better offensively in the loss. For this game, they finished 2 of the 30 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 3 power play opportunities but weren't able to score a goal. Detroit had a total of 0 penalty mins in this game. The Corsi for the Red Wings was 36 and the Corsi against was 57 which gave them a Corsi percentage of 38.7%. Their Fenwick was 31 and the Fenwick against was 53, which means they earned a rate of 36.9%. They won 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 31 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 51.6% and they had a PDO at even strength of 96.1 for this matchup. In discussing stats from the opponent, the Arizona Coyotes racked up a total of 45 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty minutes and they earned a total of 1 power play attempt.

The Lightning will be the team across the ice and for the season they sit with 18 wins and 13 losses. Regarding goal differential, they currently sit 7th in the East and 9th in the NHL with +12. They have compiled a total of 123 goals for the year which has them at 6th in the East. Tampa Bay has a team save percentage of .901 which currently has them ranked 22nd in the NHL, which means scoring chances could be there if they are opportunistic. They have a shooting percentage of 10.6% ranking them 4th in the conference. In goal for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy who is having an average season by giving up 2.81 goals per game and that ranks him 14th in the Eastern Conference and 25th in the NHL. In the 1,560 minutes he has been on the ice, he has surrendered 73 goals. He holds a save % of .908, which has him sitting 16th in the Eastern Conference and 33rd in the NHL.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning faced the Florida Panthers in a matchup where the Lightning ended up with the victory by a final score of 6 - 1. In this outing, Tampa Bay went home with a 61.7% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by earning a Corsi of 50 while their opponent earned a Corsi of 31. Their Fenwick rate came in at 59.7% by earning a Fenwick of 37 and the Panthers having a 25 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Tampa Bay had and they put on a good performance in this one. Their PDO was 111.1 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 69.0%. The Lightning scored 6 goals of the 34 shots on goal they tried. They had 4 power play opportunities in this one and netted 3 out of those opportunities. In discussing the opposition, the Panthers had 4 power play chances and were able to tally 1 goal. Tampa Bay gave way to 30 shots on goal and the Panthers racked up a total of 8 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-120)

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