Lightning vs. Red Wings Pick
Will the host Detroit Red Wings win as a small underdog against the Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night? Game time is 7:30PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Lightning are a -125 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Red Wings are a +105 underdog and the over-under is 5.5 goals.
The Lightning are 4-1-1 following Saturday night’s 2-1 home win over the Flames. The Red Wings are also 4-1-1 after a 6-3 victory Friday night at Las Vegas. Tampa Bay won all five games in the season series last year and have won seven straight over Detroit dating back to April of 2016. The over-under in the five games last season went 3-1-1.
In Saturday night’s win, the Lightning received goals from Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov. Andre Vasilevskiy turned away 28 of 29 shots to post the win.
Detroit was paced by Gustav Nyquist in Friday’s win at the Golden Knights as he tallied two goals and an assist. Henrik Zettererg had one goal and three assists, while Anthony Mantha recorded a goal and two assists. Luke Glendening and Frans Nielsen added one goal apiece. Petr Mrazek made 24 saves to get the win.
The Red Wings are 7-0 in their last seven home games following a road trip of seven days or more.
Bet on Lightning vs. Red Wings
Tampa Bay’s 4-1-0 start is less surprising than Detroit’s, but it’s hard to go against a Red Wings team returning home following a strong road trip. Jimmy Howard will likely be in goal for the hosts and right now he is giving his team a better chance to win than Mrazek, who wasn’t poor at Las Vegas but also benefited from a six-goal night. Detroit’s trend of winning after returning home from a lengthy road trip carries weight here. We’re going to side with the home team.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: DETROIT RED WINGS +105