Lightning Looking to Bounce Back
It has been quite the road trip for the Lightning with wins over the Western Conference-leading Dallas Stars and defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. However, mixed in there is a shootout loss to the lowly Arizona Coyotes. Now Tampa Bay wraps up the four-game swing at Vegas.
Tampa Bay is 14-12-1 on the road this season. However, Vegas is a much better team on the road (17-5-4) than at home (16-13).
Tampa Bay is a point behind Toronto in the Atlantic Division race. That could change with the Maple Leafs’ game with Montreal on Saturday night over before the Lightning take to the ice.
After some inconsistent results in January, the Golden Knights are 4-0 in February as Vegas has outscored its opponents 19-5. There is little margin for error for the Golden Knights with the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers all vying for the top spot in the tightly bunched Pacific Division.
Tampa Bay has the sixth-best points percentage and third-most regulation wins since the start of January as the Lightning make a playoff push.
Defenseman Erik Cernak (upper body) is questionable for the Lightning.
For Vegas, veteran forward Mark Stone recently went on injured reserve with a back injury. He is third on the Golden Knights with 38 points. The Golden Knights are also without goalie Logan Thompson (leg), forward Nolan Patrick (upper body) and defenseman Danill Miromanov (lower body).
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Lightning (+1200) is tied for fifth in the odds to win the Stanley Cup championship. The Golden Knights are tied for sixth at +1600.
Let’s check the latest NHL news, stats, injury reports, and NHL lines for the Lightning vs Golden Knights. We’ve got plenty of NHL picks for you to consider.
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Three of Tampa Bay’s last five games couldn’t be decided in 60 minutes.
The Lightning had played 15 straight games that ended in regulation before this recent stretch.
Tampa Bay did beat Colorado in a shootout. However, the Lightning squandered points against San Jose and Arizona teams well outside of the playoff structure.
The inability to capitalize on offensive zone time proved to be costly. Tampa Bay outshot the Sharks and Coyotes 94-48 in those two games only to come up with two out of a possible four points. Tampa Bay is 2-2 in shootouts and 5-3 in overtime games.
The NHL betting lines total has gone over in five of Tampa Bay’s last seven road games as well as in the last five meetings with teams from the Pacific Division.
Production From Unlikely Sources
Coming into the season, the Golden Knights figured to led by William Karlsson, Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson and Reilly Smith.
However, players like Nicolas Roy, William Carrier and Paul Cotter have emerged.
Cotter leads the Golden Knights with seven goals since the start of January. During that time Roy and Carrier both have five goals and five assists and they are a combined +18. Carrier has delivered three game-winning goals. He scored with 17.2 seconds to play in Thursday’s 2-1 win over visiting San Jose.
now he’s William the Thrilliam 🥳 pic.twitter.com/EK82ah4ll4
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 17, 2023
With Eichel and some of the other regular contributors starting to turn things around, this could be a tough team to deal with for the rest of the season.
The Las Vegas odds total has gone under in five of the Golden Knights’ last six games against Eastern Conference teams.
Lightning vs Golden Knights Game Injuries
Lightning vs Golden Knights Head-to-Head
The teams have split the last six meetings with the road team winning four times. Four of those games have been decided by one goal.
Each team won the road earlier last season. Corey Perry led Tampa Bay with a goal and two assists while Mark Stone scored twice for the Golden Knights.
Lightning vs Golden Knights Game Information
- Game: Lightning (35-16-3) vs Golden Knights (32-18-4)
- Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
- Day/Time: Saturday, Feb. 18, 10:30 p.m. ET
- Lightning vs Golden Knights Live stream: NHL.TV
Lightning vs Golden Knights Betting Lines
Lightning vs Golden Knights Picks and Prediction
This could be worth staying up for.
Tampa Bay has fared well against the teams expected to compete for the Western Conference title and this is another chance to pick up a win against a Western Conference contender.
The last time the Lightning played in Vegas, Tampa Bay mustered just 19 shots on goal so expect more sustained offensive pressure in this one.
Tampa Bay has covered in 10 of its 27 road games. Vegas is 10-19 against the spread (ATS) at home.
Tampa Bay is 32-11-3 when listed as the favorite with Vegas 7-6-1 when listed by the sportsbook as the underdog.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are listed at -125 in our Las Vegas odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Lightning, you have a chance to win $80. Vegas is +105, offering a chance to win $105 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Tampa Bay Lightning a 55.56% chance to win, with the Vegas Golden Knights at 48.78%.
Lightning vs Golden Knights Trends
Lightning vs Golden Knights Edge
Lightning vs Golden Knights Results
Lightning vs Golden Knights Game Summary
