Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Ottawa Senators - 1/4/20 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Ottawa Senators

Date: Saturday, January 4, 2020

Location: Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON

TV: SunS/CBC

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-201) Senators (+180)

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning (22-13-4, 3rd in the Atlantic Division) head to Canadian Tire Centre on Saturday where they'll take on the Ottawa Senators (16-20-5, 7th in the Atlantic Division). The Lightning open this game at -201 while the Senators are priced at +180. The total opens at 6.5. The Lightning are covering 55.3% of the time, having gone 21-17 SU. The Senators are covering 39.0% of the time, going 16-25 straight up.

The Tampa Bay Lightning head into this game holding a record of 22 wins and 13 defeats, ranking them 3rd in the Atlantic Division. During the year thus far, they have earned a total of 138 goals which ranks 5th in the East and 6th in the league. Their goal differential is +17, ranking them 8th in the league. The Lightning have compiled a total of 48 points, which ranks 13th in the league and 8th in the East. Regarding shots at the opposition, they have compiled a total of 1,277 which ranks 10th in the Eastern Conference and 19th in the league. As a group, Tampa Bay has earned a total of 859 hits which means they are averaging 22 per contest. They have compiled a total of 389 blocks for the year. Protecting the net for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy from London, Ontario. He is 25 years old and has played a total of 1,740 mins defending the net for the season. Vasilevskiy is giving up 2.83 goals per game which places him at 14th among Eastern Conference goalies and 26th in the NHL among goaltenders. So far this season, he has surrendered 82 goals. He's earned a save % of .909 which places him at 13th among Eastern Conference goalies.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 2 - 1 win over the Montreal Canadiens the last time they stepped on the ice. The Lightning could have played much better offensively in this victory. In this game, they earned a goal on 2 of the 23 shots they put on net. In addition, they had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to score. Tampa Bay racked up 15 penalty mins for this game. The Corsi for the Lightning was 39 and the Corsi against was 65 giving them a Corsi percentage of 37.5%. Their Fenwick sat at 31 while the Fenwick against was 48, telling us they have a rate of 39.2%. They won 20 face-off wins at even strength and lost 29 of all total face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 36.7% and they had a PDO at even strength of 106.5 in this one. In terms of their opponent's stats, the Montreal Canadiens earned a total of 39 shots. They ended the game with 9 minutes in the box and they notched 3 power play attempts.

The Senators are the team looking to add points to their total and for the campaign they sit with 16 wins and 20 defeats. In connection with goal differential, they rank 14th in the Eastern Conference and 26th in the league with -22. They currently have a total of 114 goals for the year which has them sitting at 12th in the East. Ottawa has a save % as a team of .900 which is good for 21st in the league, meaning there should be some chances to score. They are shooting 9.3% ranking them 12th in the East. In goal for Ottawa is Craig Anderson who is having a rough season by allowing 3.07 goals against average and that ranks him 22nd among East goaltenders and 45th among goalies in the NHL. In the 1,018 minutes he's played this year, he has given up 52 goals. His save % is .903, which has him ranking 21st among East goaltenders and 43rd among goalies in the NHL.

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The Ottawa Senators played the Florida Panthers in a game where the Senators took the loss by a final of 6 - 3. In this game, Ottawa had a 56.5% Corsi rating. They got there by having a Corsi of 61 and their opponent having a Corsi of 47. Their Fenwick rate came in at 55.4% by way of having a Fenwick of 41 and the Panthers having a 33 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Ottawa had and it shows us they played like an average team. They had a PDO of 96.4 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 60.7%. The Senators scored 3 goals out of the 31 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play chances in this one but weren't able to notch a goal. Concerning their opponent, the Panthers had 3 power play chances and used that advantage to score 2 goals. Ottawa gave way to 31 shots on goal and the Panthers had 6 minutes in the box.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-201)

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