Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins Expert NHL Picks 10/17/2019

Thursday, October 17, 2019

TD Garden

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

Ondrej Palat and the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-2-1, 4th in the Atlantic Division) travel to TD Garden on Thursday where they'll take on the Boston Bruins (5-1-0, 2nd in the Atlantic Division). The Bruins open this contest at -120 while the Lightning are priced at +109. The O/U is set at 6. The Lightning are covering 50.0% of the time, having gone 3-3 SU. The Bruins are covering 83.3% of the time, going 5-1 straight up.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will look for better times on the ice after their 4 - 2 loss against the Ottawa Senators the last time they stepped on the ice. The Lightning had a rough night on the offensive side of the ice in this defeat. For this outing, they converted 2 out of the 21 shots they put on goal. Furthermore, they had 4 power play chances but weren't able to net one. Tampa Bay had 18 penalty minutes for this game. The Corsi for the Lightning was 37 and the Corsi against was 41 which gave them a Corsi percentage of 47.4%. Their Fenwick was 22 and the Fenwick against sat at 32, meaning they had a Fenwick percentage of 40.7%. They took 22 face-off wins and were beaten on 13 of the face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone came in at 51.0% and they had a PDO of 93.5 in this one. When it comes to their opponent, the Ottawa Senators racked up 34 shots. Their total at the end of the game was 18 penalty mins and they earned a total of 4 power play opportunities.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning have 5 total points this season, which ranks them 18th in the NHL. They are 11th in the league in goals scored with 20 while they've given up 17 goals, ranking them 16th overall. They have had 15 power play opportunities and have scored 4 goals on those chances for a percentage of 27%. That is 9th in the NHL. The Lightning have allowed 18 power play opportunities and have given up 5 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 72%, putting them 24th in the league when short-handed. They average 26 shots per game and as a team shoot 15.15% for the season. They allow 34 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%. That puts them 16th in the league in stopping the puck.

The Boston Bruins played the Anaheim Ducks in a matchup where the Bruins took home the victory by a score of 4 - 2. In their game, Boston wound up with a 51.6% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 33 while their opponent had a Corsi of 31. Their Fenwick percentage was 56.0% by way of having a Fenwick of 28 and the Ducks having a 22 Fenwick. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Boston played and they showed up in this game. Their PDO at even strength was 97.5 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 53.8%. The Bruins converted 4 goals of the 23 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 3 power play attempts in this outing and were able to notch 2 out of those opportunities. Concerning their opponent, the Ducks had 4 power play attempts but weren't able to take advantage of it. Boston conceded 32 shots on goal and the Ducks racked up a total of 8 penalty minutes.

Useful Team Statistics

The Bruins are 2nd in the NHL with a total of 10 points this year. They have 5 power play goals on 16 opportunities for a percentage of 31%. That ranks them 5th in the league as a power play unit. They've allowed 18 power play opportunities and have given up 3 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 83%. That is 13th in the NHL. As a team, the Bruins are 16th in the league with 16 goals scored while they've given up 10 goals, which is 26th overall. They average 30 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 9.04%. As a team they give up 33 shots per game and have a save percentage of 95%. That is 1st in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Tampa Bay is 28th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 45.7%, as they've attempted 172 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 204 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 44.2% as they have 119 attempts while they have given up 150 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Lightning start possessions in the offensive zone 45.1% of the time, which is 24th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 54.9% for the season. That is 8th overall in the NHL. They have 116 face-off wins compared to 108 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.8%. That ranks them 12th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 76 hits and they have blocked 54 shots from the opposition, putting them 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Bruins are 6th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 54.2% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 45.8% for the season, which is 26th in the NHL. They have 132 face-off wins compared to 123 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.8%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Boston has 92 hits and they have blocked 62 shots from the opposition, which is 8th in the league. Boston is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50% as they've attempted 228 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 228 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 50.3% ranks 15th as they have 168 attempts while they have given up 166 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Tampa Bay

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