Tampa Bay Lightning at Carolina Hurricanes Prediction: Game 2
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be looking to win both of the opening games of round two on the road when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night. The Lightning took game one Sunday and will try to take control of the series. The Central Division champion Hurricanes will not go quietly, however, as they will be desperate on home ice to tie the series before heading south to Tampa. MyBookie has a moneyline on this game of Carolina -115, while Tampa Bay checks in at -105. The Hurricanes are favored by 1.5 goals, and the over/under is 5.5.
Tampa Bay Lightning: Defending Champs Trying to Repeat
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into play Tuesday with a 1-0 lead in the series after a 2-1 victory in game one Sunday night. Right winger Barclay Goodrow scored the eventual game-winner at 12:39 of the third period to give the Lightning the lead in the series. The Lightning are beginning to put together a run similar to last season’s Stanley Cup sprint. They are scoring crucial goals and getting outstanding goaltending. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevsky was phenomenal Sunday, making 37 saves and stealing the game from Carolina. Center Brayden Point scored his team-leading fifth goal of the postseason.
In addition to Point’s goal-scoring, Tampa is getting outstanding production from right winger Nikita Kucherov. Kucherov has scored three goals in the postseason and has a team-high nine assists for 12 points. Defenseman Victor Hedman also has nine helpers in the playoffs. Between the pipes, Vasilevsky has shown why he is the best goaltender in the game today. He has allowed 17 goals in seven games and has a goals-against average of 2.41. His save percentage in the playoffs is .936.
Carolina Hurricanes: Get the Series Back to Even
The Carolina Hurricanes come into play Tuesday trailing 1-0 in the series but remain hopeful that game two will have a different result. The Hurricanes played a solid game in game one but just could not get a puck in the net in the third period. One area that probably needs to improve for the Hurricanes is the power play. Carolina had five power-play opportunities and converted just one of them. They also need to protect the puck better, as they gave it away 12 times in game one. Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic continues to play solid in net, as he made 28 saves in game one and gave Carolina a chance to win.
In the postseason, right winger Sebastian Aho leads Carolina with five goals scored. Other than that, there have not been any standouts for the Hurricanes, but they do have 16 players that have at least a point in the postseason. Between the pipes, Nedeljkovic has allowed 18 goals in seven games and has a goals-against average of 2.19. His save percentage is .921.
Betting Lines and Predictions
MyBookie has a moneyline on this game of Carolina -115, while Tampa Bay checks in at -105. The Hurricanes are favored by 1.5 goals, and the over/under is 5.5. This series is going to go on for a while. Both of these teams are very good and can win on each other’s ice. Carolina is going to even this series on home ice after squandering an opportunity in game one. It won’t be easy, though, as Vasilevsky is on another level right now. Take the ‘Canes in game two, though, in another low-scoring affair.
- USA Wager Pick: Carolina -115
