The Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning will meet for Game 4 on Saturday. The road team has won each of the first three contests of this series as Carolina pulled off the upset in Game 3 with a 3-2 victory in Tampa Bay in overtime.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this Central Division battle at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay is the favorite at -156. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Carolina at +135 as the underdog.
Carolina has three players listed as questionable for Saturday’s game, including Warren Foegele, Nino Niederreiter, and Vincent Trocheck. Tampa Bay will be without Marian Gaborik and David Savard is listed as questionable.
Staal Gives Hurricanes Life with OT Winner
Jordan Staal scored on the power-play 5:57 in overtime to give Carolina a 3-2 victory. Sebastian Aho had a huge game, scoring a goal and assisting on the other two. Petr Mrazek returned and was spectacular, stopping 35 of 37 shots.
Carolina is averaging 3.00 goals per game and are connecting on 7.7% of their shots. The power-play has been solid at 21.4%. Aho leads the team with six goals and 10 points. Staal is second in both categories with five goals and seven points.
The Hurricanes are allowing 2.44 goals per game and have been outstanding in penalty killing situations, killing off 82.4% of shorthanded situations. Mrazek returned just at the right time. After missing more than four months of the season with an injury, he now has a 1.82 GAA and a .946 save percentage in his one start.
Lightning Look to Rebound
The Tampa Bay Lightning fell behind by two before rallying to tie the score on a pair of power-play goals in the second period. Alex Killorn and Brayden Point scored the two goals, but the team could not earn their third straight victory over the Hurricanes. Andrei Vasilevskiy was solid, stopping 24 of 27 shots.
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.33 goals per game and are connecting on 11.2% of their shot attempts. They are hitting on 39.3% of power-play opportunities. Nikita Kurcherov is the team leader in points with 14 and also leads in assists with 11. Killorn and Point now each have six goals.
The Lightning are allowing 2.44 goals per game and are killing off 74.2% of shorthanded situations. Vasilevskiy did not have his best game in Game 3, but still has a 2.29 GAA and a .935 save percentage.
Trends:
Carolina:
- 4-1 in their last five games as the underdog.
- 19-9 in their last 28 games following a victory.
Tampa Bay:
- None
NHL Picks
The Carolina Hurricanes got a big shot in the arm when Mrazek returned, and everyone should expect that they will feed off that same energy for this contest as well. The home team has found no comfort in playing in their own home arena, and I do not see that as an edge here as well. The Lightning have to feel a little bit of pressure, and I think that benefits the Hurricanes on their way to a victory.
Pick: Take Carolina at +135.
The Total:
What a fantastic contest we saw in Game 3, and everyone should expect a similar contest here. No doubt that goaltending is going to be the key, and both netminders should be up to the task, keeping this a low-scoring affair. These teams have gone under in 14 of the last 18 meetings between them and have gone under in 13 of the last 17 meetings in Tampa Bay.
Pick: Go under 5.5 at -141.