Free NHL Picks Today: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Colorado Avalanche 2/9/23

The Colorado Avalanche (27-18-4) travel to face the Tampa Bay Lightning (32-16-2) at Amalie Arena on Thursday. Colorado is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss against the Penguins on Tuesday. The Avalanche committed only one penalty in the game, holding Pittsburgh without a power play goal.

Nathan MacKinnon was the only player to find the net for the Avalanche. Pavel Francouz had a terrific performance with 36 saves (.947%) in the loss.

Tampa Bay fell 4-3 (OT) to the Sharks on Tuesday. Brayden Point was the leading goal scorer for the Lightning, netting twice. Brian Elliott saved only 18 of 22 shots against (.818%) in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The teams last met in last season’s Stanley Cup Final when the Avalanche clinched the championship with a 2-1 win (4-2 series).

FACING OFF

Colorado is averaging 3.02 goals per game for the season, 21st in the NHL, and they are taking on a Lightning team that is allowing 3.02 goals a game (15th). Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has found the net 3.56 times a game on average, fourth in the league, and the Avalanche are allowing opponents to score 2.71 goals per game (9th).

Don’t be surprised to see several power play opportunities for the Avalanche, as the Lightning have been penalized 4.58 times a game, fourth-most in the NHL, for an average of 11.48 minutes (fifth-highest). The visitors are averaging 3.69 penalties (20th) and 8.24 penalty minutes a game (24th).

The Lightning’s 26.01% power play percentage is the third-best in the league, while the Avalanche rank ninth with a conversion rate of 23.93%. When it comes to defending power plays, Tampa Bay has the league’s 16th-ranked PK% at 79.63%, while Colorado is 21st at 76.67%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 61 points this season, 10th-most in the NHL, Mikko Rantanen is the top skater for the Avalanche. He is among the league leaders with 34 goals (4th) and has added 27 assists. In the net, Alexandar Georgiev (20-11-3) is Colorado’s top goaltender.

He has a 2.60 GAA and a .919% save percentage. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 75 points (3rd in the league). He has a league-best 55 assists and 20 goals (). Andrei Vasilevskiy (23-13-1) is the top goalie for Tampa Bay with a goals against average of 2.63. He has a save percentage of .916%.