NHL Predictions: Will the Devils upset the Lightning? 10/17/17

Posted on October 17, 2017

Which team will continue its hot start when the New Jersey Devils play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at 7:30PM ET? Here’s our NHL Predictions for this game.

ODDS

According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Lightning are slightly favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -115 to win, while the Devils are listed with a money line of +105 to prevail. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 5.5 goals. Tampa has won six of the last seven games in this series. Tonight’s contest takes place from the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey and will air live on NBCSN.

LIGHTNING

Tampa Bay has won four straight to improve to 5-1 on the season thanks to a 3-2 win over the Red Wings last night. The Lightning are 1-1 on the road as well. Tampa is putting up 3.83 goals per game right now while allowing 3.00 per game. Nikita Kucherov is leading the team with seven goals and 10 points while Steven Stamkos has one goal with eight assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has a 3.00 GAA in his six starts with a .914 save percentage in net.

DEVILS

New Jersey is off to a 4-1 start to the year following a 3-2 win over the Rangers a few nights ago. The Devils are 1-1 at home. Jersey is averaging 4.20 goals per game while allowing just 2.60 per contest this season. Cory Schneider has a 3-1 record in net with a .275 GAA and a .924 save percentage in four starts. Will Butcher is leading the offense with eight points on eight assists while Jesper Bratt has three goals and three assists.

NHL PREDICTIONS

The Lightning have owned this series, winning seven of the last eight. They are also 7-1 in their last eight conference games and 7-1 in their last 8 on no rest. New Jersey is just 1-7 in their last 8 when on two days of rest. They are also 7-20 in their last 27 home games and 2-6 in their last 8 against Atlantic Division foes. While the public is strongly behind the Devils, I think the Lightning continues its series success tonight.

NHL PREDICTIONS: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING -115