Tampa Bay Lightning +.5 +105
Enjoy getting the Lightning as a dog because it won’t happen often anymore. A year ago at this time these two met at Detroit and the Red Wings were a -260 favorite. Detroit barely won that game 3-2. The Lightning out shot the Red Wings 35-22 and if it wasn’t for Curtis Joseph in the net Tampa Bay could have swept the season series two games to none.
It’s a new year and Curtis Joseph won’t be there this time. No Dominik Hasek either as he has decided to forego the penalties and cash out his IRA a bit earlier than Detroit expected. Enter Manny Legace who has played well in reserve behind a great defensive team. As a team the Red Wings have routinely only been allowing a goal or two a game. But they haven’t been scoring much either. In their last 23 games they have averaged under three goals scored. By comparison in their last 23 games Tampa Bay has scored well over four goals per game. Tampa Bay may give up 2 or 3 but they’ll score 4 or 5. Interesting contrast styles of play.
Tampa Bay comes into this game on a eight game winning streak and with the most road victories in the league. Since the 21st of January they have only lost three times, 18-3-1. They are one of the elite teams in the NHL and if it wasn’t for the month of December, when they went 4-9-2 this team would by far have the best record in the entire league and be playing at a .730 winning percentage. Excluding that one 30 day lapse of winning hockey and this team has done nothing but beat everyone. Good and bad, home and away. They are a complete team and have lived the charmed life without one major injury hurting them all year. In fact they really haven’t had any kind of injuries to anyone all year.
Detroit on the other hand has and today is no exception as they play tonight minus one of their greatest assets Pavel Datsyuk who had scored 61 points in his 66 games and has been a major reason to their success this year. He joins a growing list of wounded for Detroit who also lost Kris Draper and Mathieu Dandenault last Wednesday. They join Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios. The Red Wings are loaded with talent but loses like these has to have an effect on them.
Enjoy this early taste of the post season where both teams will be trying to make a statement in what could be the eventual match up of Stanley Cup final opponents.
NHL single unit plays………76-53-7.…..+ 22.92
Unit and a half plays………..13-2-1.…… + 16.695
NHL total to Date…………...89-55-8.……+ 39.615
Enjoy getting the Lightning as a dog because it won’t happen often anymore. A year ago at this time these two met at Detroit and the Red Wings were a -260 favorite. Detroit barely won that game 3-2. The Lightning out shot the Red Wings 35-22 and if it wasn’t for Curtis Joseph in the net Tampa Bay could have swept the season series two games to none.
It’s a new year and Curtis Joseph won’t be there this time. No Dominik Hasek either as he has decided to forego the penalties and cash out his IRA a bit earlier than Detroit expected. Enter Manny Legace who has played well in reserve behind a great defensive team. As a team the Red Wings have routinely only been allowing a goal or two a game. But they haven’t been scoring much either. In their last 23 games they have averaged under three goals scored. By comparison in their last 23 games Tampa Bay has scored well over four goals per game. Tampa Bay may give up 2 or 3 but they’ll score 4 or 5. Interesting contrast styles of play.
Tampa Bay comes into this game on a eight game winning streak and with the most road victories in the league. Since the 21st of January they have only lost three times, 18-3-1. They are one of the elite teams in the NHL and if it wasn’t for the month of December, when they went 4-9-2 this team would by far have the best record in the entire league and be playing at a .730 winning percentage. Excluding that one 30 day lapse of winning hockey and this team has done nothing but beat everyone. Good and bad, home and away. They are a complete team and have lived the charmed life without one major injury hurting them all year. In fact they really haven’t had any kind of injuries to anyone all year.
Detroit on the other hand has and today is no exception as they play tonight minus one of their greatest assets Pavel Datsyuk who had scored 61 points in his 66 games and has been a major reason to their success this year. He joins a growing list of wounded for Detroit who also lost Kris Draper and Mathieu Dandenault last Wednesday. They join Derian Hatcher and Chris Chelios. The Red Wings are loaded with talent but loses like these has to have an effect on them.
Enjoy this early taste of the post season where both teams will be trying to make a statement in what could be the eventual match up of Stanley Cup final opponents.
NHL single unit plays………76-53-7.…..+ 22.92
Unit and a half plays………..13-2-1.…… + 16.695
NHL total to Date…………...89-55-8.……+ 39.615
