Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions, Game 3 Picks, Betting Tips 8/15/2020

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Saturday, August 15, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-167) Blue Jackets (+138)

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Scotiabank Arena is the site where Joonas Korpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets will play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday in Game 3. The series is tied 1-1. The Blue Jackets open this contest at +138 while the Lightning are priced at -167. The O/U opens at 6.5. The Lightning are covering 60.3% of the time, having gone 41-27 SU. Columbus is covering 47.1% of the time, going 33-37 straight up.

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into the game holding a record of 43 victories and 21 losses, ranking them 2nd in the Atlantic Division. During the year thus far, they have racked up a total of 243 goals which is 1st in the East and 1st in the NHL. Their goal differential is +49, ranking them 2nd in the NHL. The Lightning have a total of 92 pts, which is 3rd in the NHL and 2nd in the conference. In connection with shots toward the net, they have a total of 2,176 which is 9th in the East and 18th in the NHL. As a unit, Tampa Bay has earned a total of 1,562 hits which has them averaging 22.3 per game. They have a total of 707 blocks for this year. The man looking after the net for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy from London, Ontario. He is 25 years old and has racked up 3,122 minutes defending the goal for the campaign. Vasilevskiy is allowing an average of 2.56 goals against average which has him placed 9th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 14th among goaltenders in the NHL. For the year, he's allowed 133 goals. He holds a save % of .917 which has him placed 7th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Lightning will look for better times on the ice after their 3 - 1 defeat to the Blue Jackets in Game 2. The Lightning had a below average offensive outing in this defeat. In the outing, they netted 1 out of the 37 shots they looked to score on. They also had 2 power play chances but weren't able to notch a goal in these power play chances. Tampa Bay ended up with 6 penalty mins while out there on the ice. The Corsi for the Lightning sat at 61 and the Corsi against was 41 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 59.8%. Their Fenwick was 44 while the Fenwick against was 29, giving them a Fenwick percentage of 60.3%. They earned 24 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 28 tries to control the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 28.1% and they had a PDO of 93.0 in this game. When it comes to their opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets earned a total of 22 shots. They had 4 penalty minutes and they notched 3 power play opportunities.

The Blue Jackets will be looking to get a victory in this matchup and for the campaign they sit with 33 wins and 22 losses. Regarding goal differential, they are sitting 11th in the East and 21st in the league with -3. They have compiled a total of 180 goals for the year which ranks 15th in the Eastern Conference. Columbus has a team save % of .913 which has them sitting 4th in the league, which means scoring opportunities may be scarce. They have a shooting percentage of 7.9% which is good for 15th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo who is having an average season by giving up 2.60 goals per contest and that ranks him 10th among Eastern Conference goalies and 17th in the NHL. In the 2,126 mins he has been on the ice this year, he has allowed 92 goals. He holds a save percentage of .911, which has him placed 15th among Eastern Conference goalies and 33rd in the NHL.

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In Game 2 Columbus earned a 40.2% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 41 while they gave up a Corsi of 61. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 39.7% by earning a Fenwick of 29 and the Lightning earning a 44 Fenwick. This Corsi percentage speaks to the kind of game that Columbus had and it shows us they played like an average team. They had a PDO of 107.0 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 71.9%. The Blue Jackets netted 3 goals of the 22 shots on goal they took. They had 3 power play chances in this outing and were able to net 1 out of those chances. Concerning their opponent, the Lightning had 2 power play chances but were not able to score a goal. Columbus allowed 37 shots on goal and the Lightning earned a total of 6 minutes in the box.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-167)

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