Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions, Game 4 Picks, Betting Tips 8/17/2020

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Date: Monday, August 17, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-167) Blue Jackets (+153)

Total/Over-Under: 5

Scotiabank Arena is the site where Joonas Korpisalo and the Columbus Blue Jackets will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday in Game 4 of their series. Tampa leads the series 2-1.  The Blue Jackets open this game at +153 while the Lightning are coming in at -167. The total has been set at 5. The Lightning cover 60.3% of the time, having gone 41-27 SU. Columbus covers 47.1% of the time, going 33-37 straight up.

The Tampa Bay Lightning head into this game holding a record of 43 victories and 21 losses, ranking them 2nd in the Atlantic Division. So far this season, they have racked up a total of 243 goals which is good for 1st in the East and 1st in the NHL. Their goal differential is +49, ranking them 2nd in the NHL. The Lightning have earned a total of 92 points, which is good for 3rd in the NHL and 2nd in the Eastern Conference. With reference to shots at the opposing goalie, they have earned a total of 2,176 which is good for 9th in the conference and 18th in the NHL. As a team, Tampa Bay has compiled a total of 1,562 hits which means they are averaging 22.3 per contest. They have earned a total of 707 blocks for this season. The man protecting 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 net for the season. Vasilevskiy is allowing an average of 2.56 GAA which has him placed 9th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 14th among goalies in the NHL. For the year, he has surrendered 133 goals. He holds a save percentage of .917 which has him placed 7th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Lightning were on the right side of the scoreboard with a 3 - 2 victory against the Blue Jackets in Game 3. The Lightning played like an average offensive team in the victory. In the outing, they netted 3 out of the 34 shots they put on net. They also had 1 power play attempt but weren't able to net one. Tampa Bay racked up 8 penalty minutes for this game. The Corsi for the Lightning sat at 68 and the Corsi against was 23 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 74.7%. Their Fenwick was 47 while the Fenwick against was 15, which earned them a Fenwick percentage of 75.8%. They took 20 face-off wins and were beaten on 19 of the face-offs. Their offensive zone starts were rated at 25.0% and they had a PDO of 89.4 for this matchup. In discussing stats from the opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets put up 17 shots. They ended the game with 2 minutes in the box and they had 4 power play chances.

The Blue Jackets are the team looking to add points to their total and for the season they have 33 wins and 22 defeats. Regarding goal differential, they are ranked 11th in the Eastern Conference and 21st in the league with -3. They have earned a total of 180 goals for the year which ranks them 15th in the East. Columbus has a team save % of .913 which currently has them sitting 4th in the league, which means chances to score may be limited. They are shooting 7.9% which puts them at 15th in the East. In goal for Columbus is Joonas Korpisalo who is having an ok season by giving up 2.60 GAA and that ranks him 10th in the East and 17th in the NHL. In the 2,126 mins he has been on the ice this season, he's surrendered 92 goals. He has a save percentage of .911, which places him at 15th in the East and 33rd in the NHL.

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In Game 3 Columbus earned a 25.3% Corsi rating. They earned that percentage by having a Corsi of 23 while they allowed a Corsi of 68. Their Fenwick rate was 24.2% with a Fenwick of 15 and the Lightning having earned a 47 Fenwick. These Corsi stats tell us the story of the kind of game Columbus had and you could say that they have had better days on the ice. Their PDO at even strength was 110.6 and they had an oZS percentage of 75.0%. The Blue Jackets scored 2 goals out of the 17 shots on goal they were seeking. They had 4 power play chances in this game but weren't able to notch a goal. In discussing their opponent, the Lightning had 1 power play chance but didn't put the puck in goal. Columbus conceded 34 shots on goal and the Lightning earned a total of 8 penalty mins.

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

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

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