Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks Prediction, 3/7/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Chicago Blackhawks

Date: Sunday, March 7, 2021

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-200) Blackhawks (+160)

Kevin Lankinen and the Chicago Blackhawks (13-7-5) host the Tampa Bay Lightning (16-4-2) at United Center on Sunday. The Lightning open this game at -200 while the Blackhawks are priced at +160. The over/under has been set at 6.5.

The Lightning were on the losing side of the ice with a 4-3 defeat to the Blackhawks in the last game they played. The Lightning had a middle of the road offensive output in the defeat. For the outing, they tallied a score on 3 out of the 42 shots they put on goal. They also had 6 attempts on the power play and notched 1 goal. Tampa Bay recorded 12 penalty mins in this matchup. The Corsi for the Lightning came in at 62 and the Corsi against was 39 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 61.4%. Their Fenwick was 43 and the Fenwick against finished at 25, meaning they had a Fenwick rate of 63.2%. They amassed 14 face-off victories when at even strength and lost on 27 opportunities to win the puck. Their starts in the offensive zone sat at 61.7% and their PDO was 96.7 for this game.

Tampa Bay Lightning opponents have recorded 77 power play opportunities (9th in pro hockey) and have come away with 9 goals in those chances. The Lightning have had 623 shots taken against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .929. Tampa Bay has tried 658 shots and holds a shot percentage of 11.7%. While playing at even strength, the Lightning have allowed the opponent to score 35 goals while earning 58 of their own. Tampa Bay has 75 power play opportunities and they have scored 19 goals out of those attempts, garnering them a percentage of 25.33%. For the current campaign, they have earned 34 points and their points percentage is sitting at .773. When talking about scoring goals, the Tampa Bay Lightning have earned 77 goals (4th in pro hockey) for the season and have given up 44.

The man in net for this game is Andrei Vasilevskiy. Opponents have notched 673 goals against Vasilevskiy in his pro hockey career and his goals against average per game is 2.49. Vasilevskiy has been involved in 278 matchups over the course of his pro hockey career. He has a save percentage of .920 during his 16,187 mins guarding the cage. He has an overall record of 173-76-19 and he started in 268 games. Over the course of his career, Vasilevskiy has 154 quality starts and his quality starts percentage is .575. Vasilevskiy has had 8,450 shots against him and he has 7,777 saves.

In their win over Tampa, Chicago earned a 38.6% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Chicago played and they put on a good performance in this one. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 36.8% by way of having a Fenwick of 25 and the Lightning ending the game with a 43 Fenwick at even strength. Their PDO was 103 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 38.3%. The Blackhawks tallied 4 goals out of the 27 shots on goal they attempted. They had 5 power play chances in this outing and converted 1 out of those chances.

Chicago has tried 768 shots (3rd in professional hockey) and has accumulated a shooting percentage of 10.03%, while allowing the opposition 856 shots. They have recorded a penalty kill rate of 76.00% on their opponents 75 tries on the power play, and their save percentage currently comes in at 91.6%. They have a total of 73 power play chances and they have a power play percentage of 31.51%. The Blackhawks have scored 54 goals at even strength and 23 goals (2nd in the league) while having more men on the ice. They have granted a total of 72 goals to be scored by way of 54 goals at even strength and 18 goals while they were shorthanded. During this campaign, the Chicago Blackhawks have tallied 77 goals, 31 points, and a points percentage of .620.

Across the rink you are likely to see Kevin Lankinen protecting the goal. His opposition is averaging 2.57 goals/game and he has yielded 42 goals in total. Lankinen's rate of quality starts comes out to 68.8% and he has 11 quality starts in his career. He has made the start in 16 contests and his ice time sits at 982 minutes. Lankinen has amassed a career mark of 9-3-4 and has been in net for 16 games. He has racked up 508 stops out of the 550 shots taken against him, giving him a save % of .924.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Tampa Bay (-200)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here