The Tampa Bay Lightning (42-25-6) play the 3rd contest of a 4-game road trip against the Boston Bruins (55-11-5) in a Saturday matinee. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (NHL Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Lightning vs. Bruins odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Lightning are 0-for-2 on the road trip so far, including an embarrassing 7-2 loss at the Ottawa Senators Thursday. That’s 3 straight losses overall for Tampa Bay, who has been outscored 15-6 during the skid.
The Bruins are on a 5-game win streak after rare back-to-back losses March 12-14. Boston doubled up the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 Thursday, and it has outscored the opposition 21-5 during the win streak with 2 shutouts.
The last time these teams met, Jan. 26 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, it was the Lightning coming away with a 3-2 win. It was a rare loss in regulation for All-Star G Linus Ullmark. Boston won the 1st 2 meetings, however, including a 3-1 win on Nov. 29 in the only previous meeting in Beantown this season.
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Lightning at Bruins odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:42 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Lightning +145 (bet $100 to win $145) | Bruins -170 (bet $170 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Lightning +1.5 (-175) | Bruins -1.5 (+150)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +110 | U: -135)
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Lightning at Bruins projected goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (31-19-4, 2.70 GAA, .913 SV%, 2 SO) vs. Linus Ullmark (35-5-1, 1.95 GAA, .937 SV%, 2 SO)
Vasilevskiy allowed 3 goals on 20 shots in a loss in Montreal Tuesday last time out. He has struggled mightily in March, going 3-4-2 with a 3.42 GAA and .883 SV% in 9 starts.
Ullmark allowed just a single goal on 41 shots in a 2-1 win over the Senators last time out on Tuesday. He is 4-1-0 with a 2.41 GAA and .924 SV% in 5 outings in March, as he shows no signs of letting up.
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Lightning at Bruins picks and predictions
Prediction
Bruins 4, Lightning 2
Moneyline
The BRUINS (-170) are a solid play on home ice, even as moderate favorites.
The B’s have rolled up 7 wins in the past 8 games inside the Atlantic Division and they catch the Lightning at a good time. Tampa has dropped 5 of its last 7 games on the road and is 2-7 in its last 9 games against teams with a winning overall mark.
Puck line/Against the spread
The BRUINS -1.5 (+150) are a solid play at plus-money against the ice-cold Lightning.
The Bruins have won 4 of the 5 games on their win streak by 2 or more goals to cover the puck line as favorites.
Over/Under
The UNDER 6.5 (-135) is a solid play based on the series trends but go lightly since Vasilevskiy is having some uncharacteristic issues lately.
The Under is 4-0 in the previous 4 meetings between these squads in Boston and is 4-1 in the past 5 overall in this series.
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