Can the Boston Bruins’ Defense Hold Off the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Offensive Attack?

The Boston Bruins will head to Amalie Arena on Friday evening to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in an Atlantic Division matchup. This will be the fourth and final regular season game between these teams, as the Bruins have won two of three games thus far, including a 3-2 home win on March 24. Boston is currently fourth in the Atlantic Division (43-20-5, 91 points) so far, while Tampa Bay is third in the Atlantic Division (43-18-7, 93 points) right now. 

 These two franchises are both playing extremely well, especially as of late, so this should be an incredible matchup. Let’s take a deeper dive into the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning to figure out where we should be betting on this game. 

Can the Boston Bruins’ Wing Play Control the Game Against the Tampa Bay Lightning?

Right winger David Pastrnak has been playing well as he is tied for ninth in the sport in goals and tied for 22nd in the NHL in points as he has posted 71 points (38 goals, 33 assists) while scoring 10 points in his last five games. The Bruins are scoring 3.16 goals on 35.8 shot attempts thus far as a team. Goalie Linus Ullmark has been an average player inside the net as he is 21-9-2 with 2.65 goals allowed per game and a .910 save percentage. Defensively, Boston is giving up 2.66 goals on 28.8 shots right now. 

Tampa Bay is doing well offensively as they are averaging 3.32 goals on 30.6 shots up to this point. Center Steven Stamkos has been doing incredibly well as he is tied for 15th in the NHL in goals, tied for 23rd in all of hockey in assists, and 17th in the league in points as he has produced 76 points (32 goals, 44 assists) while adding nine points in his previous five games. The Lightning are allowing 2.75 goals on 29.6 shot attempts this season. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been doing extremely well as he has a 35-14-4 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.37 goals allowed per game. 

Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Prediction

These teams are playing extremely similar to one another this season to the point that if you put a blind resume for both franchises this year, it’s likely you would not be able to tell. However, I trust Andrei Vasilevskiy more down the stretch than I trust Linus Ullmark due to their play and the experience factor. The Bruins are just 27-41 against the spread this season, while the Lightning are a little bit better at 31-37 against the spread so go with the Tampa Bay Lightning to cover the puck line in this game and split the regular season series.

* All odds provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.