It will be Game 2 of the Central Division finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Tampa Bay opened the series with a 2-1 victory.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this Central Division battle at PNC Arena. Carolina is the favorite at -116. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts Tampa Bay at -105 as the underdog.
Tampa Bay will be without Anders Nilsson and Marian Gaborik. Erik Cernak and David Savard are both listed as questionable. Nino Niederreiter is listed as doubtful for Carolina.
Goodrow Delivers Game-Winner for Lightning
Barclay Goodrow scored with a little over seven minutes left in the game to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 2-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. Brayden Point scored the other goal for Tampa Bay. Andrei Vasilevskiy was outstanding, stopping 37 of 38 shots.
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.71 goals per game and have connected on 12.0% of their shots, second in the playoffs. They have been great on the power play, connecting on 39.1% of their chances. Nikita Kucherov has nine assists and 12 points. Brayden Point leads the team with five goals.
The Lightning are allowing 2.57 goals per game in the post-season and are killing off 74.1% of the attempts. Vasilevskiy is 5-2 with a 2.41 GAA and a .936 safe percentage.
Hurricanes Offense Stymied
Carolina tied the score a little less than two minutes into the third, but could not generate any more offense. Jake Bean scored the only goal for the Hurricanes. Alex Nedeljkovic was solid in net, stopping 28 of 30 shots.
Carolina averaging 3.29 goals per game and is hitting on 7.9% of their shots. The Hurricanes are connecting on 20.8% of power-play opportunities. Sebastian Aho leads the Hurricanes with five goals and seven points. Jordan Staal and Martin Necas each have five points.
Carolina is allowing 2.57 goals per game and they are killing off 86.2% of short-handed situations. Nedeljkovic has been outstanding, posting a 2.19 GAA and a .923 save percentage.
Trends:
Tampa Bay:
- None
Carolina:
- 23-9 in their last 32 games at home.
- 8-3 in their last 11 games against teams with a winning percentage above 60%.
Tampa Bay got what they wanted, and now hold home ice advantage. However, they are not going to get two victories in Carolina. These teams have been evenly balanced all season and Carolina has been very good against Tampa Bay at home. The home team is 15-7 in the last 22 meetings.
Pick: Take Carolina at -116.
The Total:
These teams have gone under in 12 of the last 16 meetings and four of the last six meetings in Carolina. The total was just three goals in Game 1 and they have gone under 5.5 goals in three straight meetings. The under clearly looks like the choice here.
Pick: Go under 5.5 at -114.