Lightning Bounce Back From Loss To Philly
The Tampa Bay Lightning just took a surprising home loss to the flyers, but they bounced back in a big way with a 5-0 rout of the Blue Jackets on the road. The Lightning continues to lead the league in points with 58 and they have now gone 11-2 over their last 13 games. This is a legit Stanley Cup contender, but they have to be careful as the Bruins have been hot of late and could make things interesting over the 2nd half of the season. Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start against the Blue Jackets and stopped 21 shots that he faced in the game for his 5th shutout of the year and the 9th of his career. He is now 25-6 with a 2.02 GAA and a .935 save percentage on the year overall, while out on the road he has gone 10-4 with a 1.80 GAA. In his career, he has gone 2u7-28 with a 2.36 GAA on the road and 45-32 with a 2.39 GAA against the Eastern Conference, while against the Maple Leafs he has gone 4-4 with a 2.42 GAA. Scoring for the Lightning in the win was Tyler Johnson, who scored twice and now has 12 on the year, Nikita Kucherov, which was his league-leading 25th, Cory Conacher, which was his 3rd and Steven Stamkos, which was his 4th in his last three games and 17th on the year. The Bolts have gone 12-6 on the road and have averaged 3.74 gpg and have allowed just 2.42 gpg in those games.
Maple Leafs Can’t Slow Down Mighty Vegas
Mighty Vegas. That is not a statement that I thought I would be making this year, but the fact is that the Golden Knights are currently 2nd in the league in points with 54 and remember folks that this is their first year in the league. The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a good season so far, but they have been struggling a little of late and they come in off a 6-3 loss at the hands of the mighty Golden Knights on the road. The Leafs are now in a tie for 2nd in the Atlantic Division with the surging Boston Bruins. Toronto will be looking to get back on track in this one, but it will not be easy as they are taking on the best team in the league. Scoring in the loss to the Golden Knights was Patrick Marleau, which was his 15th of the year and Auston Matthews, who scored twice and now has 17 on the year. Taking the loss against the Golden Knights was Frederik Andersen, who allowed five goals on 30 shot attempts to fall to 20-12 with a 2.71 GAA and a .920 save percentage on the year overall, while here at home he has gone 9-4 with a 2.80 GAA and a .917 save percentage. In his career, he has gone 65-36 with a 2.41 GAA in his home games and 64-35 with a 2.64 GAA against the Eastern Conference, while against the Bolts he has gone 1-4 with a 4.35 GAA. The Maple Leafs have gone 11-5 at home for the year and they have averaged 3.33 gpg and have allowed 2.92 gpg in those games.
Trends
Tampa Bay is:
- 17-5 in their last 22 vs. the Atlantic
- 23-7 in their last 30 after allowing two goals or less in their previous game
Toronto is:
- 17-35 in their last 52 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation
- 16-36 in their last 52 vs. a team with a winning % above .600
Pick: Tampa Bay -133*