Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and the Tampa Bay Lightning will face off against Ryan Suter, Eric Staal, and the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center in an East-West showdown. NBC Sports Network will showcase the matchup, and the opening face-off is at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 16.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Lightning (-170), whereas the Wild are showing moneyline odds of +150,, and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Though the team is 28-18 straight up (SU) this season, Tampa Bay has actually lost 1.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 26 of its games have gone over the total, while 19 have gone under and just one has pushed. This 2019-20 Lightning team is 13-9 SU on the road.
Tampa Bay has converted on 27.2 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. Its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 83.2 percent of its penalties..
With a .916 save percentage and 28.1 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (23-11-2) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If Tampa Bay decides to rest him, however, they could turn to Curtis McElhinney (5-7-2), who has a .904 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average this year.
On the other side of the rink, Minnesota is 20-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 5.9 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 22 of its contests have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just four have pushed. This year, the team’s 11-9 SU at home.
The Wild have converted on just 17.9 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 27th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
Devan Dubnyk has stopped 24.7 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for the Wild. Dubnyk has eight wins, 15 losses, and two overtime losses to his name and has maintained a fairly-weak .892 save percentage and 3.35 goals against average this year.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Wild, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The Wild are 1-2 in games decided by shootout. The Lightning are 2-0 in shootouts.
For both of these clubs, the under has hit in three of their past five outings.
Tampa Bay has managed 26.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Minnesota has been attempting 31.0 shots per game over its last five at home.
Six of Tampa Bay’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 5-1 in those games.
Tampa Bay skaters have given out the league’s 10th-most hits per game (23.0).
