Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Ottawa Senators Prediction, NHL Odds
The Senators look to cap a difficult week for the franchise by snapping a three-game losing streak on home ice, capped by Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Lightning opened their current four-game road trip with Thursday night’s 3-2 loss in Columbus. In addition to going winless through their first four road outings of the season, the Lightning have also fallen defeat in their first dates with Atlantic Division rivals.
The Senators are listed as slim -120 favourites on the Saturday NHL odds, and are a long +180 puckline bet to claim victory by multiple goals. The Lightning closely trail as +100 underdogs, while -135 odds favour the total going OVER 6.5.
Lightning vs. Senators NHL Betting Odds
The Senators have faded fast since opening their schedule on a 3-1-0 run, losing four of five since, and have allowed 4.67 goals per game during their three-game home slide. However, the Sens have enjoyed some recent home success versus Tampa Bay, earning the win by multi-goal margins in four straight meetings while outscoring the Bolts by a 23-8 overall margin. The Lightning looked to have gotten over a shaky start while picking up at least a point in each of the five dates on their recent home stand, including shutout victories over Carolina and San Jose. However, they have taken a step back in this week’s losses in Seattle and Columbus, and are now poised to establish a losing streak of at least three games for the fourth time during a worrisome 8-14 straight up run in regular season action since March 18.
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning have struggled to play a full 60 minutes during their current two-game slide. The club endured another slow start on Thursday, spotting the Blue Jackets an early 1-0 lead before waking up and reclaiming a 2-1 advantage. However, they failed to show up after 40 minutes, allowing Columbus to seal the win with three goals while getting outshot 12-6 in the final frame. That loss follows a brutal performance against the bottom-feeding Seattle Kraken, who stormed to an early 3-1 lead on 20 first-period shots and held on for a 4-3 overtime victory. It would be easy to point to the absence of goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for the team’s uneven start to the season. However, this club’s woes date back to last season, and have not been helped by the lacklustre performances of Brandon Point and Nikita Kucherov, who have combined to produce just three total points on the road this season. Conversely, Steven Stamkos has done his past, netting three goals and five points in two road appearances.
Ottawa Senators
With Thursday’s loss, the Senators enter the weekend in sole possession of last place in the Atlantic, adding further pain to a dismal week in which Shane Pinto was suspended for 41 games, and the team fired GM Pierre Dorion and forfeited a first-round pick resulting from the Evgenii Dadonov trade debacle. On the ice, the club remains hampered by injuries on the blue line. Both Thomas Chabot and Erik Brannstrom have missed the past two games. Chabot remains on the shelf indefinitely with a hand injury, while Brannstrom is dealing with a concussion, and is reportedly not being rushed back into the lineup. Despite the absence of Chabot and Brannstrom, the Sens have managed to keep opposing shooters in check, allowing just eight total goals over the past three games. Joonas Korpisalo deserves a big hat tip for his recent strong play that gave the Sens a chance to win the past three games. The Finnish netminder has racked up an impressive .933 save percentage while facing a total of 119 shots over that stretch. However, Korpisalo could benefit with more support from Sens snipers when he takes the net as expected on Saturday. Vladimir Tarasenko turned in two-point efforts in four of the team’s first home game games, but has scored just once over the past five games. A 39-goal scorer last season, Tim Stutzle has failed to find the back of the net in six games, but has recorded seven helpers over that stretch.
TB
OTT