NHL Preview & Picks – December 14, 2021

The NHL, like most other professional sports is currently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. All signs are pointing to either a temporary shut down or fans being disallowed from attending games.

The lone game between Calgary and Chicago was postponed last night and tonight two games have been postponed (Calgary/ Nashville and Carolina/ Minnesota).

Even with those games not happening, we still have 12 games going tonight so lets find some winners…

Los Angeles Kings @ Tampa Bay Lightning

• Time: 7:00 PM ET
• TV Coverage: ESPN+
• Los Angeles Kings: 12-10-4, 6th Pacific (4-4-2 Away)
• Tampa Bay Lightning: 17-6-4, 3rd Atlantic (8-3-2 Home)

Trends:

• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Los Angeles’ last 5 games.
• Los Angeles are 4-8 SU in their last 12 games.
• Tampa Bay are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games against Los Angeles.

Preview:

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning begin a two game home stand tonight where they’ll face the Los Angeles Kings. Tampa Bay is coming off a brutal loss on Saturday where they were beaten by the Senators 4-0. Brian Elliot get the start for the Bolts and finished with a -0.2 GSAx. However, the star of the show was in net for Ottawa, Anton Forsburg who had a +2.37 GSAx. Tampa Bay will look to rebound here against a team that they have not faced yet this season.

Offensively, the Lightning have been above average with a 57.73 Goals % and a 2.52 Goals For Per 60. Tampa Bay continues to struggle on the man advantage without Kucherov as they rank 19th in the League. The Bolts have a -2.17 Goals For Above Expected which is middle of the road. If you exclude last games loss, the Bolts rattled off a five game win streak where they were solid offensively averaging 4 goals per game during that stretch. Anthony Cirelli is questionable for tonight’s game with Brayden Point remaining sidelined.

On the opposite side of the puck, Tampa has looked much better than years past. However, they are dealing with some injuries as Bogosian is questionable for tonight’s game and Cernak is out indefinitely. They have one of the League’s best Goals Against Above Expected with a -11.81 and are averaging 1.84 Goals Against Per 60. Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to get the start with a +13.5 GSAx on the year.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings enter this matchup on a two game winning streak knocking off the Minnesota Wild 2-1, and the Dallas Stars 4-0. However, their game tonight will begin a tough stretch for them as they face Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina, and Washington all on the road.

LA doesn’t have a great offense which only averages 2.15 Goals For Per 60. They also have the second worst Goals For Above Expected with a -11.08, only behind Toronto. The Kings are generating a ton of shots on goals with the 3rd highest Shots on Goal per Game but, haven’t been able to capitalize. Another issue is that they’re averaging .58 less goals for on the road than at home this season (2.88-2.30).

Defensively, the Kings have been much better with a -16.76 Goals Against Above Expected which leads the League. They’re only averaging 1.82 Goals Against Per 60 (4th). They will be without one of their top guys tonight with Alex Edler, who’s out indefinitely. Jonathan Quick is expected to get the start in net tonight with a +14.8 GSAx this season. He has been great this year despite struggling last season.

Picks:

• TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING 3-WAY LINE (-120)
  • The Lightning have been great at home all season and face a Kings team who have struggled on the road. Tampa Bay is coming off a tough loss and should rebound here. While the Lightning haven’t been the dominant team they were last year, they are still a very good team.
  • This bet is only a go is Vasilevskiy gets the start in net. 

Other Plays for Tonight:

• SAN JOSE SHARKS (-130)
• NEW YORK RANGERS / COLOARADO OVER 6.0 (-120)

Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.