Senators vs. Lightning Odds, Prediction
| Senators Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -180 | 5.5 -115o / -105u | +145 |
| Lightning Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +150 | 5.5 -115o / -105u | -175 |
By Ryan Sura
The Senators are on a five-game winning streak but are playing on a back-to-back after beating Nashville 5-2 last night. The Sens should be rather tired/depleted considering current their injury situation — Josh Norris, Nick Cousins, Nick Jensen, Jacob Bernard-Docker, and Noah Gregor are all out.
This is also the fourth time the Senators are playing on a back-to-back since January 1st.
The Senators have been getting much better goaltending than expected during their five-game winning streak:
- 2.36 xGA/60 (12th) | 1.30 GA/60 (3rd)
- .956 SV% (2nd) | Season SV%: .918 (10th)
- 1.014 PDO (5th) | Season PDO: .989 (19th)
This is expected to be Linus Ullmark’s first start since Dec 28th as well, so it's a good spot to fade him considering his rustiness and the fact that he takes on a top-3 offense in the NHL with his team on a back-to-back.
The Bolts have lost two out of their last three at home, bringing their home record to 16-7-2 for the season. I think this is a great bounce-back spot for the Bolts, especially considering they have the rest advantage over Ottawa.
Pick: Lightning to win in regulation (-110)
Flyers vs. Utah Odds, Prediction
| Flyers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -225 | 5.5 -110o / -110u | +114 |
| Utah Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +185 | 5.5 -110o / -110u | -135 |
The Flyers are quite depleted and reenforcements are not coming quite yet. They traded away Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost for Andrei Kuzmenko and while the former are playing for Calgary already, Kuzmenko is wrapped up in visa issues and cannot join his team here.
To make matters worse, Owen Tippett is still out, hurting their top-six output.
Even with those players, the Flyers are struggling to score. They have averaged 1.8 goals per game in their last 10, a figure that ranks last in the NHL. They also rank bottom 10 overall in road goals scored.
To really make things worse, the Flyers haven’t scored a goal in nine straight periods (three straight games) Their goal-less streak is about to hit 200 minutes, and they've scored one or fewer goal in five of their last six games.
Utah is fighting for their playoff lives, and has a nearly fully healthy core of defensemen. They also are expecting to start Karel Vejmelka, a top-10 goalie in hockey by goals saved above expected.
Adding everything together, I think Utah rolls and wins this game, even with their injuries up front. But I’m more certain in their ability to shut down this Flyers offense.
