Vancouver Canucks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, NHL Odds
The Lightning have been in-tough early on this season, losing three in a row on the road. Will home ice help the Bolts on Thursday?
Puck drop from Amelie Arena in Tampa is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. Keep up to date on the moneyline, puckline and Over/Under on our NHL odds.
Canucks vs. Lightning NHL Betting Odds
Tampa has dominated this head-to-head over the past few seasons, going a perfect 6-0 since December of 2018. The Bolts were the favourite in each of those matchups and covered the spread in all but two games. It tends to be a high-scoring affair though, with five of those six games featuring six or more goals.
The Canucks’ offence was red-hot before being shutout in Philly on Tuesday night. They scored 12 goals through their first two games, before putting up a goose egg in the 2-0 loss. They are now 1-1-1 on the Over/Under this season. For the first time this season, they were the favourite to win on Tuesday, disappointing the people who betted in their favour.
Tampa Bay has only managed two goals in each of their past two games and they dropped their third in a row on the road Tuesday night. The 3-2 overtime loss was the first time this season their game has hit the UNDER, putting their record against the Over/Under to 2-1-1. They have given up 17 goals through four games, tying them with Carolina for the most goals allowed in the NHL.
Vancouver Canucks
With two wins over the Oilers to start the season, Vancouver rolled into Philadelphia riding high. After giving up a goal on the first Flyers shot of the game, they fell behind 2-0 to end the first period on a goal off a penalty shot. The game ended at 2-0 and the Canucks took their first loss of the season. They were out-shot heavily for a second straight game (42-26) and were criticized by head coach Rick Tocchet post-game.
The highlight for the Canucks was the effort shown by star netminder Thatcher Demko. He stopped 40 of 42 shots, to keep his team in the battle all night.
The ‘Nucks will need to keep themselves out of the box if they want get back in the win column. They have put themselves shorthanded 15 times so far this year, good for second-most in the league.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After a big opening night win at home, Tampa went on a three-game road trip and returned to the Sunshine State with just a single point. They went down 2-0 early against Buffalo on Tuesday before Brandon Hagel scored in the second to cut the lead in half. He would add his second of the game with just seven seconds left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Bolts eventually lost 3-2, giving the Sabres their first win of the season.
Captain Steven Stamkos missed his second straight game on Tuesday with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Stamkos joins goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy on the sidelines. Stamkos’ injury is not expected to be long-term, but their superstar netminder is not expected to be back for a few months.
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