Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, 4/17/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Florida Panthers vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2021

Location: Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Panthers (+137) Lightning (-157)

Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning (29-12-2) play the Florida Panthers (27-12-5) at Amalie Arena on Saturday. The Lightning open this matchup at -157 while the Panthers are coming in at +137. The over/under has been set at 6.

The Panthers will look to clean up some issues after taking a 3-2 defeat to the Lightning their last time out. The Panthers didn't have their best offensive outing in this loss. In the game, they were able to notch a goal on 2 out of the 38 shots they launched. They also had 3 power play chances but didn't get a goal. Florida had 6 minutes in the box in this outing. The Corsi for the Panthers came in at 39 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 38 meaning they had a Corsi rate of 50.6%. Their Fenwick was 33 and the Fenwick against finished at 28, giving them a Fenwick rate of 54.1%. They garnered 30 face-off victories when at even strength and lost on 16 attempts to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them sat at 55.9% and their PDO rating was 95.4 for this matchup.

Florida Panthers opponents have earned 133 power play tries (11th in the league) and have come away with 27 goals in those chances. The Panthers have had 1,326 shots taken against them and hold a save percentage of .911. Florida has attempted 1,496 shots and is the owner of a shooting percentage of 9.2%. At even strength, the Panthers have conceded 91 goals while getting 106 themselves. Florida comes into the game with 143 power play opportunities and they have notched 31 goals out of those tries, giving them a rate of 21.68%. For the current season, they have recorded 59 points and their points percentage is .670. When talking about their scoring capabilities, the Florida Panthers have notched 137 goals (9th in the National Hockey League) over the course of the season and have allowed 118.

The man in goal for this game is Sergei Bobrovsky. Bobrovsky has played in 531 matchups during his hockey career. He has an overall mark of 293-179-45 and he was named the starter in 518 games. Opponents have scored 1,302 goals against Bobrovsky in his pro hockey career and his average for goals against per game is 2.55. Bobrovsky has seen 15,612 shots taken against him and has garnered 14,310 total saves. His save percentage sits at .917 for his 30,630 mins between the pipes. For his professional hockey career, Bobrovsky has compiled 294 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .568.

In their win over Florida, Tampa Bay had a PDO of 105 and their oZS percentage was 44.1%. They had 2 opportunities on the power play in this game and converted 1 out of those opportunities. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 45.9% by way of having a Fenwick of 28 and the Panthers having racked up a 33 Fenwick. The Lightning netted 3 goals out of the 19 shots on goal they pursued. Tampa Bay wrapped up this game with a 49.4% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Tampa Bay played and it tells us they had an average game overall.

The Lightning have 110 goals at even strength and 35 goals (3rd in pro hockey) while on the power play. Tampa Bay has taken 1,297 shots (12th in hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 11.18%, while allowing the other team 1,225 shots. Over the course of the season, the Tampa Bay Lightning are sitting with 145 goals, 60 points, as well as a points percentage of .698. They have earned 137 power play opportunities and they have accumulated a power play rate of 25.55%. They have earned a penalty kill percentage of 83.10% on the other teams 142 power play chances, and their save percentage currently sits at 91.1%. They have granted a total of 109 goals to be scored by of a combination of 85 goals at even strength and 24 goals while they had less men on the ice.

On the other side of the ice you are going to see Andrei Vasilevskiy in the crease. Vasilevskiy has a lifetime mark of 185-79-19 and has played in 293 games. Vasilevskiy's quality start rate sits at 56.5% and he has 160 quality starting assignments in his professional career. He has racked up 8,200 saves out of the 8,909 shots taken, giving him a rate of .920. The opposition is averaging 2.49 goals/game and he has allowed 709 goals overall. He has started in 283 games and has played for a total of 17,089 minutes.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Florida (+137)

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