The Philadelphia Flyers (8-10-5) host the Tampa Bay Lightning (13-8-1) at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday. Tampa Bay is coming off a 3-1 loss against the Bruins on Tuesday. The Lightning committed only one penalty in the game, yet still conceded a power play goal.
Steven Stamkos was the only player to find the net for the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy had 23 saves in the loss. Philadelphia beat the Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday. Kevin Hayes was the leading goal scorer for the Flyers, netting twice. Carter Hart saved 23 of 24 shots in the win (.958%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Flyers won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 3-2 victory in October. Noah Cates, James van Riemsdyk, and Scott Laughton were on the scoresheet for Philadelphia. Stamkos (2G 0A) and Nikita Kucherov (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Tampa Bay. Hart got the win, saving 36 of 38 shots (.947%).
FACING OFF
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.45 goals per game for the season, seventh in the NHL, and they are taking on a Flyers team that is allowing 3.04 goals a game (14th). Meanwhile, Philadelphia has found the net 2.39 times a game on average, 32nd in the league, and the Lightning are allowing opponents to score 3.18 goals per game (19th).
Philadelphia averages fewer shots/game (28.9) than most teams in the league, ranking 30th, while the team’s 8.8% shooting percentage is 27th. With an average of 31.2 attempts, Tampa Bay ranks 15th. The Lightning’s 28.57% power play percentage is the fifth-best in the league, while the Flyers rank 32nd with a conversion rate of just 14.08%. In terms of defending power plays, Tampa Bay has the league’s 20th-ranked PK% at 76.92%, while Philadelphia is 27th at 72.46%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 35 points this season, third-most in the NHL, Kucherov is the top skater for the Lightning. He leads the league with 25 assists and has added 10 goals of his own. In the net, Vasilevskiy (8-6-1) is Tampa Bay’s top goaltender.
He has a 2.94 GAA and a .905% save percentage. Hayes leads the Flyers in scoring with 23 points. He has seven goals and 16 assists in 22 games. Hart (6-5-4) has the best goals against average for Philadelphia at 2.85. He has a save percentage of .915%.
HOME AND AWAY
Tampa Bay is 6-5-0 away from home this season. Philadelphia is 5-5-1 at Wells Fargo Center this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-225)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
