Tampa Bay Lightning Travel to Chicago to Face the Blackhawks 

The Tampa Bay Lightning will travel to the United Center on Saturday evening to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in a non-conference matchup.

Tampa Bay Lightning are leading the Atlantic Division (35-11-6, 76 points) and are coming off a 5-2 home victory over the Ottawa Senators. The Blackhawks are currently seventh in the Central Division (19-27-8, 46 points) and are coming off a 0-4 home loss against the St Louis Blues. 

These two franchises are on two completely different levels this season, according to their records, so it will be an interesting matchup. Let’s take a look at Tampa Bay and Chicago to figure out on who should we put our money on. 

Game Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning at Chicago Blackhawks March 6th

Looking at the offensive output for both franchises, Tampa Bay is averaging 3.46 goals on 30 shot attempts. While Chicago is scoring 2.43 goals on 28.7 shot attempts thus far. Center Steven Stamkos has been leading the charge for the Lightning. He is tied for 12th in points with 60 points (26 goals, 34 assists) with eight points in the previous five games.

On the opposite side of things, right winger Patrick Kane was drafted the year before Stamkos, also as the first overall pick, and has recorded 53 points (16 goals, 37 assists) with six points scored in the last three games. 

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is 29-8-4 with a 92.1 save percentage and 2.27 goals per game allowed this season. Compared that Chicago’s goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 16-19-4 record with 2.83 goals given up and a 91.1 save percentage.

As a team, the Lightning are allowing 2.73 goals on 29.2 shot attempts while the Blackhawks are giving up 3.39 goals on 32.1 shots.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Chicago Blackhawks Betting Prediction

These teams are not in the same stratosphere and should reflect it with the injuries on the Chicago side. The difference is simply the ability to put the puck into the back of the net. Tampa Bay is averaging 4.8 goals in the previous four games while Chicago is scoring 2.8 goals in their last five games.

However, the Lightning are riding a five-game winning streak as of this writing, while the Blackhawks are currently a putrid 1-4 in their last five games, so there has been a huge difference recently. 

The Lightning are 25-27 against the spread this season, while the Blackhawks are 26-28 against the spread this season, so there is no real major advantage on that front. All in all, go with the Tampa Bay Lightning to cover the puck line on the road. They are simply the better team!

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* 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.