The Tampa Bay Lightning (23-6-2) hit the road Tuesday for the first half of a two-game set against the Dallas Stars (10-10-8) with an 8:30 p.m. ET puck drop at American Airlines Center. Below, we analyze the Lightning-Stars odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
Lightning at Stars: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:50 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Lightning -160 (bet $160 to win $100) | Stars +140 (bet $100 to win $140)
- Against the spread/ATS: Lightning -1.5 (+170) | Stars +1.5 (-210)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: +120 | U: -140)
Lightning at Stars: Projected starting goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (20-3-1, 1.86 GAA, .933 SV%, 3 SO) vs. Anton Khudobin (6-8-2, 2.48 GAA, .909 SV%, 3 SO)
Vasilevskiy enters on an 11-game win streak with 3 or fewer goals allowed in each of those games. He has faced the Stars three times during the win streak, blanking them in Dallas March 2 with 28 saves, and he also shut them out Feb. 27 with 20 saves in a 5-0 win. Vasilevskiy also has a 4-3 shootout win in Dallas March 16.
Khudobin is coming off a 4-3 shootout loss at home against the Nashville Predators Sunday. That outing came on the heels of a 3-0 shutout of the Detroit Red Wings Saturday when he turned aside all 21 shots he faced. He was at the opposite end of the ice in those two shutouts by Vasilevskiy Feb. 27 and March 2.
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Lightning at Stars: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Lightning 4, Stars 1
Money line (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-160) are reasonably priced considering their dominance against the Stars, especially behind Vasilevskiy.
The public is all over the visitors, and it’s often a good idea to be a contrarian and go against the grain when the public is on a team at more than a 2-to-1 clip, but in this instance, Tampa Bay is 5-0 in its past five trips to Big D, and 3-0 in the season series. Ride with Joey Public in this one.
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Against the spread (ATS)
The LIGHTNING -1.5 (+170) can help you nearly double up on the puck line. Tampa covered the line in two of the three meetings this season.
The Lightning have covered the puck line in three straight games, and in 16 of their last 19 victories overall. When they win, they often do it by at least 2 goals.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-140) will cost you a pretty penny here, but that’s the best play when Vasilevskiy is between the pipes.
The Under cashed in two of the three meetings this season while both sides have been trending to the Over against most every other opponent, play the Under lightly.
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