Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings Predictions and Odds Jan 18

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings Predictions

Sportsmemo NHL handicapper JM Sports offers his Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings betting preview for Tuesday, January 18. At the time of posting, the Lightning are a -210 road favorite on the moneyline, with the total set at 5.5 goals in this cross-conference clash.

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Thursday, January 13	NHL Betting Notes
Moneyline:	Tampa Bay Lightning -210 / Los Angeles Kings +175
Puckline:	Lightning -1.5 (+125) / Canucks +1.5 (-145)
Total:	5.5 Goals
Game Time:	10:30pm ET / 7:30pm PT
Arena:	Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles
TV:	ESPN+

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings Analysis

This game is a tale of two teams when it comes to Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, but the one thing they have in common is the fact that both these teams are fighting for 1st place in their division and neither team is far from first. Tampa Bay heads to Los Angeles to start a three game, West-Coast road trip as they look to take over sole possession of 1st in the Atlantic Division, currently they are tied with Florida.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, is 2nd in the Pacific, and while they are 12 points behind Tampa Bay, what really matters is the fact that they are just 3 points behind Las Vegas who currently holds the #1 spot in the division. Tampa Bay holds a 22-11-2 edge against Los Angeles dating back to 1996 and they look to continue that run.

Lightning Lean on Vasilevskiy

Tampa Bay looks to have Andrei Vasilevskiy in the net against Los Angeles, who has been one of the top goalies in the league this season, he is 5th in the NHL in goals allowed on average (2.14 per game), tied for 6th in save percentage (0.924%), and #1 in the league for wins by a goalie.

Vasilevskiy has put up a quality start in 71% of his starts this season, and 25 out of 31 games have resulted in points for Tampa Bay. The team is 10-3 in his road starts this year and 8-2 against non-conference opponents with Vasilevskiy in net. Tampa Bay is 26-14 on the year putting up 3.4 goals per game, while allowing 2.8, although they are allowing 3.2 goals to opponents on the road this season.

They have cashed in on five out of their last six games, and they have averaged over four goals per game in that six game stretch, while allowing just two goals per game to the opposition. Tampa Bay is (+22) in goal differential this season, but their defense comes into this West Coast road trip banged up, especially on the right side of the defensive unit.

Zach Bogonsian is out 2-3 weeks, Erik Cernak is questionable after missing the last game, and Ondrej Palat is still day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Palat is the 4th leading scorer on the team with 30 points, yet Mathieu Joseph has stepped up and filled in multiple roles on the ice during some injury struggles. Regardless of the injuries, they still have a huge weapon in Steven Stamkos who sits at the #6 ranking in the league with 46 points, and Victor Hedman who is #5 in the league in assists w/ 33.

LA Pacing in the Pacific

Los Angeles looks to turn a new stone after Jonathon Quick allowed six goals against San Jose, Cal Petersen looks like he will get the call in net for the home game against Tampa Bay. Los Angeles is 8-5-1 with Petersen in net, but they are 6-2 in his home starts and 6-1 in his starts against non-conference opponents (Los Angeles is 13-5 against the spread vs. non-conference opponents on the year).

Even though Petersen has had just a .905 save %, and has allowed 2.58 goals on average per game, since his return from the COVID list, he has posted a .968 save %, stopping 60 out of the 62 shots fired on goal, allowing just two total goals in his three starts.

Los Angeles has won six of their last eight games, including the rough game against San Jose, but they have put up 3.5 goals per game on average and allowed just 2.25 goals per game in the last eight, including the six goals Jonathon Quick allowed in the loss. Los Angeles is 20-14-5 on the year, but 45 points is enough to keep them in the #2 spot in the division for the time being. Los Angeles is just (+8) in the goal differential category, and although Anze Kopitar is the teams leading scorer (would be 4th on Tampa Bay – 35 points), the team has found a way to continue to fight for the top spot in the Pacific Division.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings Predictions

Keep an eye on this game to potential get out of hand early, Los Angeles has scored just 20% of their goals in the first period, while Tampa Bay likes to attack early and often. Los Angeles has fought back late in recent games, but a team like Tampa Bay isn’t an easy team to face when you are digging yourself out of a hole.

Tampa Bay has struggled to prevent goals in the 3rd period, allowing 20 (out of 60) goals on the road in the final period, but with Los Angeles averaging just over one goal in the 3rd period, I don’t know if that is enough to make this game exciting against a team like Tampa Bay that can continuously attack in all three periods.

Opinion : I don’t love either side in this game, if Tampa Bay’s defense was at full strength, I would absolutely be going with the Lightning on this one, with Vasilevskiy in net, I don’t think Los Angeles will be able to put up the goals that they need to, to truly compete with the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Interested in placing a bet on tonight’s Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings contest? BetMGM is offering a $1,000 Risk-Free Bet for first-time bettors in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Tennessee, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Washington DC, Wyoming, Mississippi, Arizona and Louisiana.

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— WagerTalk (@WagerTalk) January 18, 2022

Puck Time

Join Carmine Bianco, Andrew McInnis and Bryan Leonard for Thursday’s edition of Puck Time as our panel of professional hockey handicappers break down tonight’s NHL betting card, including this Tampa Bay Lightning vs Los Angeles Kings contest.

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