Eastern Conference Contenders Square Off
Both the Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes are coming off one-goal losses to the NHL-leading Boston Bruins. They also happen to be two of the teams who could prevent the Bruins from following up one of the most dominant regular seasons in recent memory by winning the Stanley Cup title
Tampa Bay has dropped four straight games and finished with two goals or less in each of those contests. Carolina is 4-4-1 since a four-game winning streak
Winning on the road has been a challenge for the Lightning as Tampa Bay is the only Eastern Conference team currently in playoff position with a losing record on the road. Carolina is tied for second in the Eastern Conference with 25 home wins, so keep that in mind when making NHL picks
When looking at some of the NHL news, Jesse Puljujarvi is questionable for Carolina. The Hurricanes already lost fellow forwards Andrei Svechnikov and Max Pacioretty for the season. Forward Ondrej Kase, defenseman Jake Gardiner and goalie Antti Raanta are out indefinitely. Tampa Bay is in a much better situation from an injury standpoint
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Hurricanes (+950) are tied for third and the Lightning (+1400) are tied for eighth in the odds to win the Stanley Cup title.
Lightning Reeling
This is usually the time of the year when the Tampa Bay Lightning starts putting everything together to start a playoff run
It has been a little different this time around. Tampa Bay has been outscored 17-7 over the last four games, with two losses to teams currently out of the playoff structure
Among the 12 players with at least one point over the last four games, only defenseman Erik Cernak is on the right side of the plus/minus numbers as he is +1
Captain Steven Stamkos, strong two-way centerman Anthony Cirelli, and recent acquisition Tanner Jeannot are all -4, so there is plenty of blame to go around as the Lightning figure begins the quest to make it three straight Eastern Conference titles
The Las Vegas odds total has gone over in four of Tampa Bay’s last six games
SHEEEEESH HEDDY 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/13spFCdvaT
— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) March 25, 2023
Leading the Way
As the regular season is winding down and the Stanley Cup playoffs are quickly approaching, this is the time when the contenders need their best players to be their best players
Carolina’s Sebastian Aho is taking that to heart. He has goals in four of his last five games
It all started with a hat trick, including a game-winning goal 28 seconds into overtime in a win over Philadelphia. He has goals in the last three games, for a total of six and an assist, with two of the goals being game-winning ones
Without Andrei Svechnikov, who will miss the rest of the season, Aho is among the players trying to fill the void
Aho has three goals and three assists over his last eight games against Tampa Bay
The NHL betting lines total has gone over in five of Carolina’s last seven games
Lightning vs Hurricanes Game Injuries
Lightning vs Hurricanes Head-to-Head
Carolina has won four of the last five games against Tampa Bay, including both of the games this season. The last time the teams met, the Hurricanes rolled to a 6-0 win over the visiting Lightning
The most recent matchup snapped a run of four straight games in the series decided by one goal
The road team has won seven of the last 11 games. Four of the last five times the teams played in Raleigh, the game finished under the total
Lightning vs Hurricanes Game Information
- Game: Lightning (42-26-6) vs Hurricanes (47-16-9)
- Location: PNC Arena, Raleigh, N.C
- Day/Time: Tuesday, March 28, 7:00 p.m. ET
- Lightning vs Hurricanes Live stream: NHL.TV
Lightning vs Hurricanes Betting Lines
Lightning vs Hurricanes Picks and Prediction
These are two very good and experienced teams, so this could have a playoff-type feel to it. Four of Carolina’s last five games have been decided by one goal, with six of Tampa Bay’s 14 games in March ending as one-goal affairs. Don’t be surprised if this game heads that way
Both teams are looking to bounce back. The Hurricanes just lost at home to a Boston Bruins team playing without first-line forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand as well as defenseman Hampus Lindholm, one of the top candidates for the Norris Trophy. Carolina did score twice in the third period to erase a two-goal lead by Boston and pick up a point
Back-to-back Brass Bonanzas!! pic.twitter.com/ZuLBzuiqjr
— x – Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) March 26, 2023
Tampa Bay has dropped four straight games, and while the Lightning is not in danger of missing the playoffs, this is not how they want to be playing at this time of the year
The Hurricanes are fourth in the NHL on the power play since March 1, converting on 29.4% of their man-advantage situations. Tampa Bay ranks 27th out of 32 teams in penalty-killing percentage. Among teams currently in playoff position, only Minnesota struggles more on the penalty kill than the Lightning.
The betting trends are somewhat frightening for both teams. Tampa Bay has covered in just 14 of 37 road games, while Carolina is only 15-22 against the spread at home
The Hurricanes are 42-19-7 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Tampa Bay is 3-9 as the underdog
The Carolina Hurricanes are listed at -145 in our Las Vegas hockey odds. This means that if you wager $100 on the Hurricanes, you have a chance to win $69. Tampa Bay is +125, offering a chance to win $125 on a $100 wager
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Carolina Hurricanes a 59.18% chance to win, with the Tampa Bay Lightning at 44.44%
Lightning vs Hurricanes Trends
Lightning vs Hurricanes Edge
Lightning vs Hurricanes Results
Lightning vs Hurricanes Game Summary
