Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers Predictions and Picks | NHL Dec 29
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers Betting Preview
The Lightning and Rangers play the second of three regular season games against one another tonight at 7:00pm ET. WagerTalk NHL handicapper Kevin Dolan breaks down this Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers game giving his betting trends and angles before puck drop.
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Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers Betting Odds
| Thursday, December 29 | NHL Betting Notes |
|---|---|
| Moneyline: | Tampa Bay Lightning -130 vs New York Rangers +110 |
| Puckline: | Lightning -1.5 (+170) / Rangers +1.5 (-200) |
| Total: | 6 (Over -120 / Under +100) |
| Arena: | Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL (Odds Above Courtesy of DraftKings) |
| Game Time: | 7:00pm ET / 4:00pm PT |
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers Betting Analysis
The Tampa Bay Lightning bounced back with a much-needed win on Wednesday night against the Montreal Canadiens after suffering back-to-back losses against the Maple Leafs and Red Wings respectively and will look to turn that into back-to-back wins later tonight against the visiting New York Rangers.
The Rangers for their part have dropped two of their last three games overall, but prior to that were on a red-hot seven-game win streak, something they’ll look to get back to here on Thursday against the Lightning.
The two teams faced off against each other in the very first game of the season, with the Rangers coming out with a 3-1 victory at home against the Lightning back on October 11th.
Rangers Relying On Inordinately Low Percentages
With a ranking of 15th on offensive xG and an even worse 20th on defensive xGA this season, it’s fair to assume that New York, at least data-wise, have failed to impress this year.
The Rangers however have been able to fall back on some solid goaltending from 2022 Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin, along with a defense that has allowed a super-low 8.5% conversion percentage to opponents in high-danger areas this year, top five in the league.
An over-reliance on the Rangers to continue putting up those kinds of defensive percentages however may be an issue for them moving forward.
Kucherov Instrumental In Lightnings Success
It’s fair to say that a lot of Tampa Bays’ success this season has been largely generated through the efforts of RW Nikita Kucherov.
Tampa Bay rank 3rd in the league this year in overall scoring offense, generating a whopping 3.59 goals per game on average, with Kucherov ranking joint 1st in the league along with Edmonton’s two stars of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in total assist rate this season also.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers Prediction
It’s difficult not to be slightly concerned by the New York Rangers overall metrics this season, and that ‘bend not break’ defense of theirs, while successful on the season so far, will be severely put to the test later tonight against one of the most offensive heavy teams in the league this year.
Tampa Bay looked good last night against Montreal, putting four goals past them, and we expect them to extend that winning run into two games here on Thursday night also as they get the win against the Rangers. Take the Tampa Bay Lightning to win outright at home on Thursday against the New York Rangers down in Florida.
Prediction: Tampa Bay Lightning Moneyline -130
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Puck Time | NHL Betting Preview for December 29
Join Carmine Bianco, Bryan Leonard and Andy Lang for Thursday’s edition of Puck Time as our panel of professional hockey handicappers break down this weekend’s NHL betting card. Join the Puck Time crew every week day at 11am ET / 8am PT as we discuss the NHL betting slate from a variety of handicapping angles.
NHL Live Odds Screen
WagerTalk’s Live Odds Screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, pucklines, totals and betting percentages for all of Thursday’s NHL action, including this Tampa Bay Lightning vs New York Rangers showdown, from your desktop or phone.
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Meet the Author
‘The sharpest sports mind in Ireland’ is how one prominent newspaper dubbed Kevin Dolan after he became the first foreigner ever to win the World Series of Handicapping tournament back in 2015. “The Irishman” made his start wagering on GAA, football, soccer and boxing, all to immense success.
Since becoming a professional bettor, he has since lit up the sports betting scene in the U.S. and abroad, winning two handicapping awards and writing a best-selling book on sports handicapping named ‘The Complete Guide to Sports Betting’.
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