Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA – Photo by Icon sport
Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning: A Eastern Conference classic
The Boston Bruins are visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.
Can the Bruins get back on top of the East?
The Boston Bruins are second in the Eastern Conference with a 42-16-15 record. They have won four of the last six games and are coming off a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers. The Bruins are third in the league with a 91.5 save percentage, seventh in allowing 2.74 goals per game, and tenth in scoring 3.31 goals per game. David Pastrnak is having another impressive season, leading the team with 101 points so far in the season.
The Lightning are hanging on in the playoff zone
The Tampa Bay Lightning are sixth in the Eastern Conference with a 39-25-7 record. They have won six of the last seven games and are coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks. The Lightning are on top of the league with 29% power play conversion; they rank sixth, scoring 3.48 goals per game, and 24th, allowing 3.31 goals per game. Nikita Kucherov leads the league with 123 points so far in the season, is second in the league with 82 assists, and is tied for seventh place with 41 goals.
Betting Trends
Boston has played over the total goal line in 4 of the last 5 games overall. Tampa Bay has gone over in 7 of the last 9 games overall, in 10 of the last 12 home games and in 5 of the last 6 games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction and Conclusion
Both teams are legit contenders for a deep playoff run, but they still have a lot of work to do in order to finish the regular season as high as possible in the standings. The Bruins were on top of the East for most of the season but have dropped to second place. They are coming off a nice 4-3 win on the road against Florida, and their confidence is on a demanding level for this one. Tampa Bay is playing their best hockey of the season, winning six of the last seven games and being among the top-scoring teams in the league. This will be a “gloves-off” fight, which will take the game over 6.5 goals in total.
