The Tampa Bay Lightning against Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. NBC Sports Network will showcase the matchup, and the puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, May 4.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins Odds
Boston enters the contest as the noticeable favorite with a -150 moneyline. The line for Tampa Bay sits at +130, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 for the over and -110 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 60-30 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 11.3 units this season. 53 of its outings have gone over the total, while 34 have gone under and just three have pushed. The Bolts are 27-17 SU on the road in 2017-18.
After accounting for the third-best power-play unit in the regular season (scoring on 24.2 percent of all chances), the Lightning have connected on 25.8 percent of their power plays in the postseason. Their penalty kill’s gone from 76.3 percent in the regular season to 79.2 percent in the playoffs.
Tampa Bay’s offensive skaters attempted 32.8 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.6 goals per contest (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the team’s attempting an average of 34.0 shots on goal 3.5 goals per game.
Averaging 29.2 saves per game with a .920 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (50-23-3) has been the primary option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If Tampa Bay decides to rest him, however, head coach Jon Cooper may turn to Louis Domingue (7-12-1), who has a .894 save percentage and 3.41 goals against average this year.
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Lightning. Kucherov (110 points) has tallied 44 goals and 66 assists, and has recorded multiple points 34 times. Stamkos has 29 goals and 64 assists to his credit (and has logged at least one point in 57 games).
Boston is 55-37 straight up (SU) and has earned 2.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 45 of its outings have gone under the total, while 41 have gone over and just six have pushed. It’s 31-15 SU as the home team this season.
Boston has converted on 24.6 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for fourth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked third overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of all opponent power plays.
Boston skaters have been sent to the penalty box 3.8 times per game in total this season, and 4.8 per game over their past five match ups. The team has had to defend opponent power plays 11.4 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Tuukka Rask (25.8 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for Boston. Rask has 39 wins, 25 losses, and five OT losses to his credit and has recorded a .916 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average this season.
Brad Marchand (38 goals, 62 assists) will pace the attack for Beantown.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in three of Tampa Bay’s last five outings.
Boston’s attempted 32.8 shots per game overall this season (the eighth-most in the NHL), and 31.8 over their last 10 games.
The Lightning are 29-16 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 32-19 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Boston is ranked 7th in the NHL with 8.0 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended down lately, however, as the team has averaged 5.7 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.8 takeaways over its last five.
Tampa Bay is ranked 19th this season with 7.1 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it’s created 8.3 takeaways over its last 10 games and 8.8 takeaways over its last five.
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