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Tampa Bay Lightning vs. N.J. Devils Pick
The Lightning have been a goal scoring machine this season, as they lead the NHL in scoring. When you have talent on it like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point, goals are going to be easy to come by. The most pressing concern for the Bolts is going to be whether they will have a healthy Vasilevskiy later in the season.
If the Lightning are going to be without his services, it’s unlikely Domingue will be able to get hot, which is necessary if you want to go far in the playoffs. In any event, the Lightning are averaging 3.78 goals per game which puts them 1st in the league.
Not good news for a Devils team who have been getting hard defensively. They’re 26th with 3.44 goals allowed per game and have given up 13 goals to the Lightning in their previous two meetings. In their last five games, they’ve given up 4.6 goals per game, with none resulting in less than 4 goals scored. It’s not the best time to be welcoming the Lightning to town with those struggles.
Domingue could be better in net for the Lightning, as he goes into tonight with a 3.29 GAA and 0.896 save percentage. His efforts are overshadowed by the terrific offence that is backing him. He must get some credit in overtime against the Panthers on Saturday, though. However, it’s not enough for me to feel comfortable with him in net. Nor do I have any confidence in Cory Schneider or Keith Kinkaid, who have both been struggling mightily. Before one of them figure it out, the Devils aren’t going anywhere. The Devils have been good at home offensively, with 3.58 goals scored per game. The OVER has gone 6-0 in their previous six and 4-1-1 in the Lightning’s last six. I’d look for another high-scoring contest this evening.
