The Tampa Bay Lightning (11-7-1) play host to the St. Louis Blues (10-9-0) at Amalie Arena on Friday. St. Louis is coming off a high-scoring 6-2 loss against the Sabres on Wednesday, ending a streak of seven wins in a row. The Blues committed four penalties in the game, conceding two power play goals.
Pavel Buchnevich and Brayden Schenn each scored once for the Blues. Jordan Binnington only had 26 saves on 32 shots against (.812%) in the loss. Tampa Bay fell 5-3 to the Bruins on Monday. Nicholas Paul scored twice to lead the Lightning. Andrei Vasilevskiy only had 24 saves on 29 shots against (.827%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The teams split their two meetings last season, the last of which was a 4-2 victory for the Lightning in December. Victor Hedman led Tampa Bay with three points (2G 1A). Robert Thomas and Scott Perunovich each had two points (0G 2A) to lead St. Louis. Vasilevskiy got the win, saving 26 of 28 shots (.928%).
FACING OFF
St. Louis is averaging 2.84 goals per game for the season, 23rd in the NHL, and they are taking on a Lightning team that is allowing 3.16 goals a game (14th). Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has found the net 3.37 times a game on average, 10th in the league, and the Blues are allowing opponents to score 3.42 goals per game (24th).
The Lightning’s 25.00% power play percentage ranks ninth in the league, while the Blues are 10th with a conversion rate of 23.53%. While strong on the power play, St. Louis has been poor at penalty killing, as the away team possesses the league’s third-lowest PK% at 68.18%. Tampa Bay’s 78.08% ranks 19th in the NHL.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 17 points apiece this season, Schenn (6G 11A) and Thomas (4G 13A) are the top skaters for the Blues. Jordan Kyrou (14 points) has been another top player for St. Louis, scoring six and assisting eight. In the net, Binnington (9-5-0) is St. Louis’ top goaltender by goals against average.
He has a 2.76 GAA and a .912% save percentage. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 28 points (6th in the league). He has 10 goals and 18 assists (6th). Vasilevskiy (7-6-1) has the best goals against average for Tampa Bay at 3.00. He has a save percentage of .903%.
HOME AND AWAY
St. Louis is 5-5-0 away from Enterprise Center this season. Tampa Bay is 6-3-1 at Amalie Arena this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-185)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
