Tampa Bay vs. Columbus. NHL match prediction and bets

Current form

Tampa Bay has been in great shape lately and continues to please fans with successful results. The team played a four-game road series, which started off very well. In the first game, the Lightning met Vancouver and won a confident 4-2 victory. Forwards Point and Kucherom once again showed their best side, scoring seven points between them. However, the team was unable to consolidate its success; in the game against Edmonton, there were problems both with creating and converting attacking chances, which ultimately led to a defeat (1-2).

But in the match with Calgary, Cooper charges showed their attacking potential to the fullest, leaving no chance for the Flames and crushing them with a score of 8:3. This time, Kucherov even made a penta-trick of assists, and also scored one goal himself, which allowed him to rise to the top of the league top scorers table. Then the Lightning went to visit Seattle, where they also won an easy victory (5:1). Indeed, this season the club has been showing excellent play, and due to the away points it has earned, it was able to rise to seventh place in the Eastern Conference table, and its closest competitors have played many more matches, which in the future will allow Tampa to climb much higher.

Disqualifications and injuries

Moser is in the infirmary and will definitely not be able to take part in the upcoming fight. Also, Hedman has not yet recovered from his injury, but he is still questionable.

Interesting trends for betting

• Tampa Bay averages four goals per game

The club is currently the most productive in the league.

• The Lightning converted 28% of their power play attempts.

It is also worth noting the excellent implementation of numerical superiority.

Current form

The rise of Columbus was followed by a long decline, which continues to this day. The team losing streak has reached four matches, and only in two of them were they able to give a worthy rebuff to their opponents. In the first match, the Blue Jackets failed to cope with the onslaught of Philadelphia, losing with a score of 3:5. Goalkeeper Merzlikin failed to cope with his main task, reflecting only 80% of the shots. Then the team hosted the leader of the Eastern Conference, Washington, and this time played much more reliably in defense, which allowed them to cling to one point - a defeat in overtime (1:2). It seemed that the "jackets" began to come to their senses and would be able to give a fight to Anaheim, which ultimately happened, however, the Ducks tied the score in the last minutes of the match, and then again had to lose in overtime (3:4). This time, goalkeeper Greaves was unable to prove himself.

The club played its worst away from Carolina, where it failed to show its attacking potential, scoring only one goal, which ultimately led to another failure with a score of 1:4. Even despite the huge number of lost points, the team continues to remain just one step away from the playoff zone, from which it is separated by only three points.

Disqualifications and injuries

Columbus' infirmary remains unchanged. Gudbransson, Jenner and Chinakhov will definitely not play in the upcoming match. Danforth is also questionable.

Interesting trends for betting

• On average, Columbus concedes 3.6 goals per game.

The club main problem remains its terrible defensive play, which is the main reason for the losses.

• The Blazers average nine penalty minutes per game.

One cannot help but notice the very weak discipline of the club, which leads to frequent removals.