Two of the league’s best at fending off power plays, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vegas Golden Knights meet at T-Mobile Arena in an East-West tilt. AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain will broadcast the game, and the opening face-off takes place at 6 p.m. ET on Friday, October 26.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Tampa Bay (-115) is currently favored over Vegas (-105) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -120 for the over and +100 for the under.
Tampa Bay is 6-2 straight up (SU) and has netted 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. That SU winning percentage, ranked second in the NHL so far in this young season, isn’t too far off from to what the team posted during the 2017-18 season (54-28). Five of its contests have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. This 2018-19 Lightning team is 2-1 SU on the road.
Tampa Bay has scored on 25.8 percent of its power play chances so far. That mark hasn’t moved too much from last year, when it was ranked fourth in the league by converting on 24.8 percent of its extra-man opportunities. Its penalty kill has gotten stronger since last year, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 75.9 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 28th overall last season) to 97.0 percent this year.
Tampa Bay, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.5 times per game this season. Last year, that figure was the fifth-worst mark in the league at 4.1 penalties per game. After serving an average of 9.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team has had to stave off opponent power plays for 9.9 minutes per outing this season.
With a .941 save percentage and 29.3 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (4-2-1) has been the top option in goal for Tampa Bay this year. If Tampa Bay chooses to rest him, however, the team may roll with Louis Domingue (2-0), who has a .934 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average this year.
Yanni Gourde and Nikita Kucherov will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Lightning. Gourde (eight points) has tallied four goals and four assists this season; Kucherov has three goals and five assists to his name through the early phase of the regular season.
Over on the other bench, Vegas is 4-5 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Six of its games have gone under the total, while three have gone over and none have pushed. It’s 2-2 SU at home thus far.
Vegas has converted on 7.1 percent of its extra-man advantages this year after scoring on 21.0 percent (ranked 15th in league) last season. It’s killed off a remarkable 84.0 percent of its penalties, compared to 81.3 percent in 2017-18 (when it was ranked ninth overall).
Vegas skaters have been whistled for penalties only 3.0 times per game this season, a number that’s improved from the 3.6 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 7.9 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 6.3 minutes per contest this year.
Marc-Andre Fleury has denied 21.3 shots per game as the top option in goal for Vegas. Fleury has four wins, four losses, and one OT loss and has registered a subpar .904 save percentage and 2.36 goals against average this year.
Jonathan Marchessault (five goals, five assists) will pace the attack for the Golden Knights.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Vegas Golden Knights Betting Picks
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Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in each of Vegas’ last five games.
The Lightning are 5-0 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Golden Knights are 1-2 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
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