Overview
The Detroit Red Wings head down to Florida tonight for game of their first round playoff series versus the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning have played the Red Wings very well over the past few seasons winning 13 of the last 20 meetings including 8 of the last 10 played in Tampa Bay.
Head to Head Trends
Red Wings are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings in Tampa Bay.
Home team is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
Tampa Bay Lightning (-150)
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished 2nd in the Atlantic Division with 97 points 6 points behind the 1st place Florida Panthers. The Lightning had a slow start to the season winning just 8 of their first 20 games and they also had a slow finish to the season losing 10 of their last 17 games although to be fair a lot of those losses came on the road.
The Lightning were one of the better home teams in the league where they had a 25-16 record during the regular season. At home the Lightning average 2.87 goals per game on offense and allow just 2.37 goals per game on defense for a +0.50 goal differential.
Tampa Bay Lightning Trends
Lightning are 61-30 in their last 91 home games.
Lightning are 27-11 in their last 38 games playing on 3 or more days rest.
Detroit Red Wings (+140)
The Detroit Red Wings finished 3rd in the Atlantic Division with 93 points 10 points out of 1st place. The Red Wings are probably the worst team to make the playoffs this year they have the worst offense of any team in the playoffs at just 2.55 goals per game and they also had a -13 goal differential on the season so it’s pretty annoying as a Bruins fan that they made the playoffs instead of the Bruins.
The Red Wings struggled away from home this season where they had just a 19-22 record. Away from home the Red Wings averaged just 2.49 goals per game while allowing 2.90 goals per game for a -0.51 goal differential.
Detroit Red Wings Trends
Red Wings are 18-38 in their last 56 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
Red Wings are 0-4 in their last 4 vs. a team with a winning record.
Conclusion
I’m going with the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Wings in this one. I don’t think the Wings are a very good team in general and I think the oddsmakers agree with me as the Lightning are a -150 favorite even though their best player Steven Stamkos is out.
Free Pick: Tampa Bay Lightning -150
