Free NHL Picks Today: New Jersey Devils vs Tampa Bay Lightning 3/14/23

The Tampa Bay Lightning (39-22-6) head to face the New Jersey Devils (44-16-6), who will be looking to build on their winning streak, at Prudential Center on Tuesday. Tampa Bay is coming off a 3-2 loss against the Jets on Sunday. The Lightning committed only two penalties in the game, yet still conceded a power play goal. Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn both scored once for the Lightning.

Cirelli added an assist to share the scoring lead with Brandon Hagel, who had two assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy saved only 19 of 22 shots against (.863%) in the loss. New Jersey won their third in a row, beating the Hurricanes 3-0 on Sunday.

Jesper Bratt was the leading goal scorer for the Devils, netting twice. Jack Hughes had a goal and two assists to lead the team in scoring. Vitek Vanecek earned his third shutout of the season with 32 saves.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Lightning won two of the three games between the teams last season, including a 6-3 victory in their final meeting in February. Five players had two points for Tampa Bay. Dawson Mercer led New Jersey with three points (1G 2A). Vasilevskiy got the win despite saving only 22 of 25 shots (.880%).

FACING OFF

Tampa Bay is averaging 3.45 goals per game for the season, sixth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Devils team that is allowing only 2.64 goals a game (4th). Meanwhile, New Jersey has found the net 3.53 times a game on average, fourth in the league, and the Lightning are allowing opponents to score 3.04 goals per game (15th).

New Jersey averages more shots a game (34.4) than most teams in the league, ranking fourth. With an average of 32.3 attempts, Tampa Bay ranks 13th. Power play opportunities are likely to be plentiful for the Devils, as the Lightning are averaging 4.52 penalties per game, third-most in the NHL.

The visitors’ 12.00 penalty minutes a game ranks second-highest. The home team has been penalized 3.38 times a game (3rd-fewest in the league) for an average of 7.73 minutes (4th-fewest).

The Lightning’s 25.64% power play percentage is the third-best in the league, while the Devils rank 17th with a conversion rate of 21.08%. In terms of defending power plays, New Jersey has the league’s 10th-ranked PK% at 82.01%, while Tampa Bay is 14th at 79.72%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 95 points this season, third-most in the NHL, Nikita Kucherov is the top skater for the Lightning. He is among the league leaders with 69 assists (2nd) and has added 26 goals of his own. In the net, Vasilevskiy (29-17-4) is Tampa Bay’s top goaltender. He has a 2.70 GAA and a .914% save percentage.

Hughes leads the Devils in scoring with 79 points. He has 37 goals (10th) and 42 assists. Vanecek (28-7-3) is the top goalie for New Jersey with a goals against average of 2.48. He has a save percentage of .910%.