Devils vs. Lightning Odds
| Devils Odds | +190 |
| Lightning Odds | -235 |
| Over/Under | 5.5 |
| Time | 4 p.m. ET |
| TV | NHL Network |
| Odds via DraftKings. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
The reeling New Jersey Devils have lost three consecutive games and will try to right the ship in Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are 7-0-2 in their past nine games.
New Jersey suffered a 4-1 defeat against the Florida Panthers on Thursday after allowing three second-period goals. The Devils have been outscored, 12-6, in their three-game losing skid.
The Lightning struggled to a 2-3-1 start in their first six games, but look every bit as dominant as they did while winning the Stanley Cup in consecutive seasons. The Lightning haven't lost in regulation since an Oct. 25 setback.
New Jersey Devils
New Jersey peppered 46 shots at Spencer Knight in its loss in Sunrise, Fla., yet its defense and goaltending have been subpar during the skid. Star goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has stopped just 53 of 60 shots (.883) in his past two outings, and New Jersey's team save percentage is .899 during that span.
The Devils are still without top center Jack Hughes, but have been buoyed offensively by the line of Andreas Johnsson, Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt, who are tied with fellow forward Pavel Zacha for the team lead with 11 points.
New Jersey has feasted on inferior competition, but is 2-6-2 in games against teams whose points percentage is greater than .500 this season, with five of those losses coming by more than a goal.
Tampa Bay Lightning
No Nikita Kucherov, no problem for the Lightning, who have only lost twice in regulation in 12 games since their star winger went down Oct. 16. The Lightning have enjoyed a resurgent offensive season from star forward Steven Stamkos, who is finally healthy and has nine goals and 18 points this season.
Tampa Bay's underlying offensive numbers aren't particularly impressive as the Lightning are 14th in the NHL in goals (46), 12th in the league in 5-on-5 goals-for percentage (51.9) and 18th in the league in expected goals percentage.
Still, Tampa Bay has the fifth-best point percentage in the NHL (.700), largely thanks to Stamkos, forward Alex Killorn, who is shooting 28 percent this season and goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. He is seventh in the NHL in save percentage (.922) in 13 starts, though doesn't yet have a shutout this season.
Devils vs. Lightning Pick
Opposing coaches love to start their backup goaltenders against the Devils, as New Jersey has faced nine second-string net minders in its 15 games thus far.
If Lightning coach John Cooper follows suit and rests Vasilevskiy for Brian Elliott — Tampa Bay will host the Central Division-leading Minnesota Wild on Sunday — then we'll absolutely recommend mashing the over since the Devils are a capable goal-scoring team.
But if Vasilevskiy is the starter in goal, Tampa Bay in a puck-line bet seems safe.
Pick: Tampa Bay -1.5 (+115) or Total Over 5.5 Goals (-120) — check lineups
