Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins Predictions, Picks, Betting Tips 8/26/2020

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins

Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-104) Bruins (-106)

Total/Over-Under: 5.5

Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning head to Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday where they'll take on the Boston Bruins. The Lightning open this contest at -104 while the Bruins are coming in at -106. The O/U is set at 5.5. The Lightning are covering 60.3% of the time, having gone 41-27 SU. The Bruins are covering 62.9% of the time, going 44-26 straight up.

The Lightning will need a bounce back game after taking a 3 - 2 loss against the Bruins in Game 1. The Lightning left a lot to be desired in terms of their offense in the defeat. In the matchup, they converted 2 out of the 37 shots they looked to score on. Furthermore, they had 3 power play attempts but weren't able to net one. Tampa Bay had 8 penalty minutes in this game. The Corsi for the Lightning was 58 and the Corsi against was 50 which gave them a Corsi percentage of 53.7%. Their Fenwick was 43 while the Fenwick against sat at 36, giving them a rate of 54.4%. They took 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 29 of the face-offs. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 25.7% and they had a PDO of 98.6 in this game. In discussing stats from the opponent, the Boston Bruins earned a total of 31 shots. They had 8 minutes in the box and they earned 3 power play opportunities.

The goalie for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy from London, Ontario. He is 25 years old and has been on the ice a total of 3,122 mins in goal for the season. Vasilevskiy is allowing 2.56 GAA which ranks him 9th among East goaltenders and 14th in the NHL. Over the course of this year, he has surrendered 133 goals. He has a save % of .917 which ranks him 7th among East goaltenders. During the season thus far, they have scored a total of 243 goals which puts them at 1st in the Eastern Conference and 1st in the NHL. Their goal differential is +49, ranking them 2nd in the NHL. The Lightning have compiled a total of 92 pts, which puts them at 3rd in the NHL and 2nd in the East. With regard to shots toward the net, they have compiled a total of 2,176 which puts them at 9th in the conference and 18th in the NHL. As a group, Tampa Bay has earned a total of 1,562 hits which has them averaging 22.3 per contest. They have compiled a total of 707 blocks for the season.

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In Game 1 Boston went home with a 46.3% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by earning a Corsi of 50 while they conceded a Corsi of 58. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 45.6% with a Fenwick of 36 and the Lightning ending the game with a 43 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that Boston had and you could say that they didn't play great, but weren't awful either. They had a PDO of 101.4 and they finished this one with an oZS percentage of 74.3%. The Bruins converted 3 goals out of the 31 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 3 power play chances in this game and were able to convert 1 out of those tries. Concerning their opponent, the Lightning had 3 power play attempts but weren't able to put the puck in the net. Boston gave way to 37 shots on goal and the Lightning ended up with a total of 8 penalty mins.

In goal for Boston is Jaroslav Halak who is having an ok season by allowing 2.39 goals per contest and that places him 4th among East goaltenders and 7th in the NHL among goaltenders. In the 1,833 minutes he's been on the ice this year, he's given up 73 goals. He has a save % of .919, which has him placed 6th among East goaltenders and 14th in the NHL among goaltenders. In terms of goal differential, they are ranked 1st in the conference and 1st in the league with +60. They have earned a total of 227 goals for the season which is good for 6th in the Eastern Conference. Boston has a save % as a team of .921 which currently has them ranked 1st in the league, which means chances to score may be limited. They have a shooting percentage of 10.1% putting them at 6th in the East.

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Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Guy's Pick: Take Boston (-106)

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