Flyers vs Lightning NHL Spread/Handicapping
Headline: Eastern Conference Outsiders – Flyers vs. Lightning With Playoff Spot in Sight
Two of the more disappointing teams in the Eastern Conference meet in Tampa Bay on Monday night as the Philadelphia Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning try to make up a little ground on the top eight in the East – the Flyers are currently six points back of eighth and the Lightning sit eight points out of the final playoff spot.
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Both teams have won two of their last three games but the Flyers have lost three straight games on the road and the Lightning are an ugly 2-7-1 in their last 10 on home ice. Needless to say – something has to give!
Philadelphia Flyers (13-15-0-1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (12-15-0-1)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, March 18, 2013
Where: Tampa Bay Times Forum, Tampa, Florida
Broadcast: RDS, TSN, NBCSN, CSN-PH
Flyers vs. Lightning Betting Lines from Bovada
Philadelphia Flyers +1½ -305 +100 Ov 6 +104
Tampa Bay Lightning -1½ +255 -110 Un 6 -115
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As previously mentioned, the Philadelphia Flyers have had all sorts of problems away from home as of late, losing three in a row and getting outscored 12-4 over that span. They are now a miserable 4-11-0 on the road this season – yuk. They are coming off a good 2-1 win versus New Jersey on Friday and the team has had some time off since their last game.
Offensively the Flyers have been OK scoring an average of 2.69 goals per game. Jakub Voracek has been by far the best Flyer offensively – he has 20 points in his last 13 games. Maxim Talbot has two goals in his last three games as well and represents the only other Flyer that can be considered HOT at the moment.
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The problem for the Flyers has been defense and goaltending. Philadelphia allows an average of 3.00 goals per game and Ilya Bryzgalov was 1-3-0 with a 3.94 goals-against average over his previous five starts before allowing just one goal last time out against New Jersey.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are coming off an impressive 4-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Saturday in a game that Steven Stamkos failed to register a point. It was the second game in a row that the league leader was held off the score sheet. That win ended a five game home losing streak for the Lightning – home ice has not been kind to this team since they started 5-0!
The Lightning have been very good offensively this season thanks to Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis – they average 3.29 goals per game. St. Louis has a goal and six assists over his last five games for the Lightning. Stamkos is pointless in his last two games overall but has four goals in his last four matchups with the Flyers, and six in their last six visits to Tampa.[ad-4437448]
Although the Lightning got some much needed secondary scoring against Carolina there are still some players struggling – Victor Hedman has just three points in 10 games, Ryan Malone is pointless in three and Teddy Purcell has just two points in his last seven games – hence the 3-7 record in their last 10 games. Vincent Lecavalier is still out with injury which puts a dent in the Lightning offense.
While the Lightning offense has been strong, the defense has not looked great. Tampa allows and average of 2.96 goals per game. Andres Lindback is 9-7-1 this year with a 2.93 GAA and a .902 save % but in his last two starts has looked good – he is 1-1-0 with a 1.51 GAA and .955 save %.
Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• PHI are 4-14 in their last 18 road games.
• TB are 1-8 in their last 9 vs. Atlantic.
• TB are 2-10 in their last 12 Mon. games.
• Over is 13-3-1 in TB last 17 Mon. games.
• Over is 5-2-1 in the last 8 meetings in Tampa Bay.
• PHI are 3-7 in the last 10 meetings.
This is an interesting matchup of a bad road team versus a terrible home team. The Lightning beat the Hurricanes in their last game but what else is new – Tampa owns Carolina for some reason. Outside of the Canes, the Lightning haven’t beaten anyone of relevance lately. I like the Flyers to get it done Monday and buck the trends – they are simply a better team. I have little faith in the Lightning at the moment.
Pick: Philadelphia Flyers +100
