Rough start to the season with my first two picks gong 0-2 (-2.70 Units). However, we look to turn that around today as we have a loaded NHL slate of games today. There’s some really exciting matchups, so let’s break one those games down.
Tampa Bay Lighting (+130) @ Florida Panthers (-150)
The Tampa Bay Lightning square off against the Florida Panthers in their final game of the season. The Lighting are coming off a 5-1 loss against the Panthers on Saturday. This game is a playoff series preview between these two teams. However, even though this is the last game of the season, the winner of this matchup will get home ice advantage in the playoffs. The home ice advantage means more for these two teams since they have some of the largest Coivd-19 capacities (~25%).
Florida lead this season series 4-3 and are coming into this game on a 11-1 streak in their last 12 at home. Tampa Bay has not officially confirmed their starter but Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to get the nod for the Bolts. He’s 2-3 against Florida this year with a 3.23 GAA. Vasilevskiy has struggled as of late with his SV% being the lowest its been in May. He’s also played worse on the road than at home. The Panthers have confirmed that Chris Driedger will start. He has only faced Tampa twice this year, picking up three out of four points.
This should be a playoff type matchup between these two squads tonight. The over in this series is 5-1-1 and is 3-0-1 when the total is set at 6.0 (tonight’s total). In the previous 7 matchups, Florida has not been the favorite once. The opening line for this game had the Bolts -140 but has shifted in the Panthers favor to -150. Tonight, Florida is has an implied winning probability of 60%. Even with Tampa’s struggles as of late, injuries, and suspension, the previous matchups have been so close I think don’t agree with those odds for Florida.
Pick: Tampa Bay Lighting +130 (Risk 1.00 Units)
