The New Jersey Devils (13-4-1) and Tampa Bay Lightning (9-7-2) tangle Tuesday in Tampa, Florida. The contest at Benchmark International Arena is will start at 7 p.m. ET (NHL Network). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s NHL odds around the Devils vs. Lightning odds and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Season series: Devils lead 1-0 with 5-3 road win on Oct. 11
New Jersey is continuing a road trip that has already seen the Devils earn wins against the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals. The win over the Caps was on Saturday (3-2 in a shootout as a +131 underdog, Under 5.5), so the Devils head into this game on 2 days of rest.
Tampa Bay played on Sunday, falling 6-2 (Over 6.5) as a -139 favorite vs. the Vancouver Canucks. The Lightning had won 4 straight home games from Oct. 25-Nov. 8, but they have now dropped 2 in a row, yielding a combined 13 goals, over their last 2 in Tampa.
Devils at Lightning odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 10:04 p.m. ET.
Moneyline (ML): Devils +140 (bet $100 to win $146) | Lightning -170 (bet $178 to win $100)Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Devils +1.5 (-170) | Lightning -1.5 (+140)Over/Under (O/U): 6 (O: -110 | U: -110)Devils at Lightning projected goalies
Jacob Markstrom (5-2-1, 3.67 GAA, .870 SV%) vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy (6-5-2, 2.77 GAA, .897 SV%)
Markstrom last played Wednesday, stopping 17-of-20 shots in an OT win over the Blackhawks. He was the Devils’ goalie in the 5-3 win over Tampa Oct. 11, stopping 14-of-17 shots in that game.
Vasilevskiy last played on Saturday at the Florida Panthers. He stopped 22-of-23 shots, which was a bounce-back after allowing 5 goals in his previous outing.
Devils at Lightning picks and predictionsPrediction
Lightning 4, Devils 3
The Lighting are 5-2 across their last 7 games against New Jersey.
The 13 goals allowed in their last 2 home games stand out as an outlier for the Bolts. They had allowed just 2.00 goals per game over their previous 7 games. Vasilevskiy logged a few shaky games early in the season, but he has rallied in recent weeks. Even with the 5 goals allowed 2 starts back, the former Vezina Trophy winner still owns a .906 SV% over his last 8 games.
The Devils have played in 5 consecutive games that have gone past regulation. For the season, they have won 5-of-6 such games. Without an early-season surge on the power play, New Jersey would be a minus in goal differential. The Devils’ 5-on-5 play has been operating at a deficit most nights.
TAKE TAMPA BAY (-170).
No interest; PASS.
The last 9 series meetings have seen the Over go 6-3.
Both clubs have 5-on-5 expected-goal figures that would indicate more goals are due in that sector. The New Jersey power play has cooled off of late but is still at 25.5% for the season. And Tampa has been penalty-prone to the tune of a league-high 12.2 minutes per night.
This total opened at 5.5. There is still a sliver of value on the OVER 6 (-110), but consider monitoring the number beforehand just in case the market is teetering on the “5.75”.
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