The Tampa Bay Lightning will play the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, Tampa Bay has won three of their last four games, while Carolina has also gone 3-1 in their last four. This is our Lightning vs Hurricanes Prediction.
Lightning Preview
The Tampa Bay Lightning are 9-6-5 this season after they lost to Winnipeg by a score of 3-2 in overtime in their last game. Tampa Bay trailed 2-0 in the first period, but they were able to get to overtime, before losing in the extra frame. The Lightning out shot Winnipeg by a total of 33-32 and went 1-1 on the power play in the game. Tampa Bay had won their previous three games against Boston, Edmonton, and Chicago. Tampa Bay is scoring 3.50 goals per game and they are allowing 3.60 goals against per game, while going 31.3% on the power play and 84.5% on the penalty kill. Nikita Kucherov has led the Lightning with 13 goals, 16 assists, and 89 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Tampa Bay is Jonas Johansson, who is 8-4-5 this year with a 3.41 goals against average and a .894 save percentage.
Hurricanes Preview
The Carolina Hurricanes are 11-7-0 this year after they defeated Edmonton by a score of 6-3 in their last game. Carolina scored four goals in the first period and they controlled most of the game for the win. The Hurricanes out shot Edmonton by a total of 27-23 and they went 0-5 on the power play in the game. Carolina has won five of their last seven games and they are tied for second in the Metropolitan Division. Carolina is scoring 3.39 goals per game and they are allowing 3.17 goals against per game, while going 22.7% on the power play and 79% on the penalty kill. Sebastian Aho has led the Hurricanes with five goals, 11 assists, and 43 shots on goal. The projected starting goalie for Carolina is Antti Raanta, who is 6-2-0 this year with a 2.88 goals against average and a .885 save percentage.
Carolina Hurricanes Team Facts
- The Hurricanes have won each of their last seven Friday night games at PNC Arena.
- The Hurricanes have failed to cover the puck line in 21 of their last 25 games as favorites following a win.
- The Hurricanes have won the first period in five of their last six games as home favorites following a home win.
- The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in each of the Hurricanes' last five games following a home win.
Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts
- The Lightning have won four of their last five games as underdogs against opponents on a winning streak.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in eight of their last nine games as underdogs.
- The Lightning have lost the first period in six of their last seven games.
- The 'Over 1.5 Goals Period 1' market has hit in seven of the Lightning's last eight games against opponents on a winning streak.
Carolina Hurricanes Player Prop Facts
- Brent Burns has scored a goal in three of the Hurricanes' last four games as favorites.
- Andrei Svechnikov has recorded a point in each of his six previous appearances with the Hurricanes as home favorites against the Lightning.
- Sebastian Aho has recorded at least one assist in eight of the Hurricanes' last nine games at PNC Arena.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Steven Stamkos has scored a goal in each of the Lightning's last three games as underdogs.
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one point in each of his last six appearances with the Lightning as underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in each of his last four appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Carolina Hurricanes are one of only two teams to win 5+ games when trailing after Period 1 this season.
- The Carolina Hurricanes ranks T3rd in the league in short handed goals this season (5).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 8th in the league for goals per game this season (3.50).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks T1st in the league in short handed goals allowed this season (1).
Lightning vs Hurricanes Prediction Breakdown
Both of these teams have been playing well in recent games, but Tampa Bay did lose their last game in overtime. The Hurricanes have played very well at home this year, as they are 6-1-0 on home ice this season, while Tampa Bay is only 3-4-2 on the road. Carolina is dealing with a couple of goalie injury issues, so it is tough to say who will be in net for them in this game. I like how Tampa Bay has been playing, but I don’t trust them on the road at all. Take Carolina here.
AUTHOR: David Racey
