The Tampa Bay Lightning (40-23-5) travel to face off against the Utah Hockey Club (31-27-11) on Saturday, March 22nd. This game will be played at Delta Center in Salt Lake City and televised on ESPN+. Both the Lightning and Hockey Club will be looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:00 ET.

Lightning vs Hockey Club

The Tampa Bay Lightning Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

The Lightning dropped to 40-23-5 after a 7-4 loss to the Jets. Tampa Bay was ahead 2-0 early, but Winnipeg responded with seven of the next nine goals. The total line was set at 6.5 goals, and the combined 11 goals easily surpassed that mark. Tampa Bay, as underdogs on the puck line, failed to cover.

Four different Lightning players scored in the game. They held a 2-1 lead after the first period, but the Jets tied it up in the second and took control with four goals in the third. Tampa Bay’s defense struggled, allowing two empty-net goals in the final period.

The Utah Hockey Club Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Utah Hockey Club fell to 31-27-11 after a 4-3 loss to the Golden Knights. Utah held a 2-0 lead, but four unanswered goals by Vegas sealed the defeat. The total for the game was set at 6.5 goals, and the combined 7 goals pushed it over the line. Utah, as underdogs on the puck line, failed to cover.

Logan Cooley opened the scoring for Utah at 11:52 in the first period. Ian Cole added another goal in the second period before the Golden Knights responded with four straight, including the game-winner at 2:15 in overtime.

Tampa Bay Offense Breakdown

Brandon Hagel opened the scoring for Tampa Bay, netting his 7th goal of the season. Brayden Point followed with his 8th goal, which came on a power play. Mitchell Chaffee added his 4th goal, and Nikita Kucherov rounded out the scoring with his 10th goal, which tied the game 4-4 in the third period.

The Lightning fired 30 shots on goal and recorded 8 giveaways. Tampa Bay had 4 assists in the game, with Jake Guentzel picking up his 8th assist of the season.

Hockey Club Offense Breakdown

Utah’s offense took 19 shots on goal and scored 3 times in their 4-3 loss to Vegas. Logan Cooley netted his second goal of the season, while Ian Cole added his first. Alexander Kerfoot scored his second goal, tying the game 3-3 in the third period.

Nick Bjugstad picked up two assists, bringing his total to 2 this season. Cooley also added his 8th assist, while Jack McBain earned his 3rd. Utah recorded 13 giveaways in the game.

Tampa Bay Team Defense

Defensively, the Lightning struggled in their previous game, giving up 7 goals to the Jets, including two empty-netters late in the 3rd period. Goalie Jonas Johansson made 27 saves with a save percentage of 84.4%. Tampa Bay’s defense also recorded 6 takeaways and 16 hits.

Utah Team Defense

Utah’s defense struggled late, giving up four unanswered goals, including the game-winner in overtime. They had taken a 2-0 lead at the 8:00 mark of the 2nd period. Connor Ingram finished with 31 saves and an 88.6% save percentage, while the defense recorded 8 takeaways and 21 hits.

Lightning vs Hockey Club Trends

• Although Tampa Bay has a straight up record of 2-1 in their last three road games, they have not held up as well vs. the puck line going 1-2. The team averaged 4 goals per game in these games.
• Utah has played well in their previous three home games, going 2-1 straight up. In this stretch, they averaged 3 goals per game while allowing 2. The team also performed well vs the puck line at 2-1.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Hockey Club have gone 2-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 1-4.
• In their last five games as the betting favorite, the Lightning have a straight up record of 3-2, while going 2-3 against the spread.

Lightning vs Hockey Club Prediction

For a moneyline pick, I’m taking the Hockey Club to pick up on a win over the Lightning at home. With the moneyline sitting at +104, I’ll be locking in a bet on the Hockey Club straight-up.

Our projections have the Hockey Club pulling out a win as the underdog. But if you’re not as bullish as we are on the Hockey Club, we’d recommend at least getting a bet down on them to cover the puck line.

If you’re looking at the over/under line set at 6 goals, our prediction is that this game will exceed that mark, and we strongly advise placing a bet on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are 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.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.