Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview

The Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning are ready to face off Friday night in Tampa. The Red Wings (2-7-2) have fewer points than all but one team, while the Lightning (6-1-1) have looked the part of a defending Stanley Cup champion.
Wednesday was the first meeting between these teams all year, and it was about as lopsided as it gets. Tampa Bay surged to a commanding lead after scoring three goals in the first five minutes, eventually winning 5-1. Twelve different Lightning players had at least one point, while they held Detroit to just 16 total shots for the game.
Here is a look at the stats and more to get you ready for Friday’s rematch. As expected, Tampa Bay is a huge favorite at -370 to prevail over Detroit, who is +295 to pull off a huge upset.
By the Numbers
Even without former Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov playing this season, the Lightning are still boasting a formidable offensive attack. Tampa Bay is averaging 3.63 goals per game on 32.4 shots, ranking fifth and sixth in the NHL. Counter that with the Red Wings, who are scoring a measly 1.91 goals per game on 25.3 shots, sitting next-to-last and third-to-last in hockey.
What’s even more impressive is that the Bolts are only allowing 2.13 goals to their opponents through eight games, the lowest mark in hockey. They’re also within the top-10 in shots allowed and penalty kill percentage.
The Wings actually do okay in shots allowed, ranking 13th with 29.5 per game. However, poor goaltending hurts them, as they are 27th with 3.64 goals allowed and have the third-worst penalty kill percentage.
Motown Misery
It was a pleasant surprise to see the Red Wings win two out of their first four games. But things went downhill quickly, as Detroit carries a seven-game losing streak heading into Friday. Even worse, the Wings have failed to score more than two goals all but once during that stretch and have lost by three or more goals four times during the streak.
Detroit’s leading goal-scorer is Tyler Bertuzzi with five; however, an injury will keep him out on Friday. That means others like Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha, and Bobby Ryan will be depended on even more. Each of those players has four goals, with Mantha getting his fourth Wednesday against Tampa Bay. Defenseman Filip Hronek has had an excellent start as well, registering a team-high six assists while averaging over 24 minutes of time on ice.
As mentioned earlier, the situation in net for the Red Wings is not ideal. Detroit has been splitting the goaltending duties between veterans Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss. Bernier is day-to-day, so it’s likely we’ll see Greiss in net, although he was pulled Wednesday after giving up three goals on his first six shots.
Surging Once Again
The Lightning have stumbled a couple of times this year, but for the most part, they look like their regular dominant selves. Tampa Bay has surged to a three-game winning streak heading into their game against the Red Wings, scoring four or more goals in each. In fact, throughout their six games, the Bolts have only failed to reach the four-goal mark once.
After missing a lot of last season due to injury, Steven Stamkos is back to his usual level of play. The star center is tied for the team-lead with four goals and 10 total points. Defenseman Victor Hedman is the other player with 10 points for Tampa Bay, as he has a team-high seven helpers. Brayden Points and Ondrej Palat each have four goals as well, along with Stamkos, and that’s not mentioning other point contributors like Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn.
Unlike the Red Wings, the Lightning have a workhouse in net in Andrei Vasilevskiy. The former Vezina winner has started every game for Tampa Bay, carrying a starling 1.99 GAA and .927 save percentage, keeping him in the conversation as one of the NHL’s best goalies.
Betting Pick
It’s really not worth betting on the Lightning money-line for a game like this when their odds are at -370 to win. So the over/under 5.5 or the -1.5 spread are the things to consider for Friday’s game in Tampa. We know the Bolts can score, but it usually takes two to tango, and it seems doubtful that Detroit will be able to muster up a lot on offense. As for the spread, even though Tampa covering the -1.5 is favored at -150, the fact they have won by multiple goals in four out of their six victories should give you some confidence to roll with them to win big.
Free Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (-150)