Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Lightning vs Red Wings NHL Odds
Looking for Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Lightning taking on the Red Wings on Thursday March 11th at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey games all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions like this Lightning Red Wings matchup.
NHL Handicapping Analysis
(18-4-2) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings (7-16-4)
Date: Thursday, March 11th
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit MI
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Lightning -380| Red Wings +290
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Lightning -1.5 (-130)
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
Tampa Bay has to be the shakiest team in recent memory that scored 9 points in their last 10 games. The Lightning have showed winning mentality even while not pretty, going to OT in three of their last four.
Detroit picked up a point on Tuesday, unable to hold a 3-2 lead heading into the 3rd before ultimately falling 4-3 in OT. Just to take 1st place Tampa Bay into OT is a feat within itself for last place Detroit though.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay sits atop the Central, ahead of the red hot Hurricanes (six straight wins) by just a point. The Lightning are 8-1 over their last 9, the lone loss coming in a SO vs. Chicago.
The Lightning have scored points in 9 straight contests, every game since a February 20th loss to Carolina.
What’s so hard to game plan against the Lightning is that they find their success on both ends of the ice. Tampa Bay leads the NHL in goals/game with 3.6 but is also 2nd defensively allowing just 2.0.
The Red Wings did touch Andrei Vasilevskiy for 3 goals on Tuesday, and even more rare was that they came on just 23 shots. Vasilevskiy looks human allowing 3 goals in two straight, but he also just posted three SOs in three of four games prior.
Detroit Red Wings
You have to give Detroit credit, they fought hard on Tuesday eventually taking a 3-2 lead into the 3rd. Dylan Larkin returned to action which was huge for the Red Wings, but they ultimately suffered the same fate.
The 4-3 OT loss to Tampa Bay was the 4th straight time Detroit has been on the losing end of a margin. Since February 13th Detroit has played 11 games, losing 8 of them and being held to 2 goals or less in 8 of those as well.
Detroit not scoring shouldn’t come as a surprise, they rank dead last in the NHL in netting just 2.1 goals/game. How the Red Wings offense managed 3 scores on Vasilevskiy will remain a mystery.
Thomas Greiss had a rough go of it in the last game vs. Tampa Bay, allowing 4 goals on just 29 shots. Greiss has now given up 15 goals in his last three starts, how the Lightning didn’t run away with this one is ridiculous.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Lightning are 36-16 last 52 road games
- Red Wings are 16-35 last 51 home games
- Red Wings are 7-20 last 27 overall
- Under is 5-1 in Red Wings last 6 overall
- Lightning are 8-1 last 9 in Detroit
Free Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings NHL Prediction:
Oddsmakers would definitely love to keep this one close again, as they made some money on the losing Tampa Bay puck line in the last game. There’s no way Vasilevskiy has a second bad game in a row though.
Everybody is getting to Greiss lately, but it’s kind of a wonder that Tampa Bay’s top scoring offense ‘only’ managed four vs. the Detroit goaltender. Either way, the odds are in TB’s favor here.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Detroit (+1.5) +110
This could be the one Tampa Bay runs away with 6-1, but Detroit has a weird way of hanging tough in this matchup.
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