NHL: Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview
Bruins Take Over Division Lead

The Boston Bruins (42-16-15, 99 points) are coming one of their biggest wins of the NHL season against the Florida Panthers last night, and now have to turn around and face another division rival in the Tampa Bay Lightning (39-25-7, 85 points).
Tampa is back home after a 4-0-1 road trip after capping the trip off with overtime wins against Los Angeles and Anaheim. Oddsmakers have made the Lightning a -115 home favorite with a total of 6 (under -115) but bettors have pushed that down to -110 each way.
The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT and can be seen on NESN, TNT, and MAX. We start our Bruins vs Lightning betting preview with a deeper look at the B’s.
Bruins vs Lightning 
Day/Time:
Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
Streaming: NESN, TNT, MAX
Can Boston Steal Four Points In Florida
If the Boston Bruins can take four points, or even three, away from back-to-back road games against the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning, it would be a massive confidence boost for a team that has struggled to gain momentum heading into the postseason.
Yesterday’s NHL scores showed the B’s getting the first two points after coming back from a 2-goal deficit to beat the Panthers, 4-3. An important win with Boston losing 12 of their last 22 games just 3-3 in their last six.
The Bruins improved to 3-0 when getting +120 or more on the betting line, but now have the task of facing another division opponent who would love nothing more than to deliver their postseason statement.
Last night’s victory comes after coach Jim Montgomery sent a darting message to his hockey players that mediocrity would not be tolerated by running one of his most intense practices of the year.
The switch was flipped and Boston showed off their depth with contributions from David Pastrnak (45G, 56A, 101 points) and third-pairing defenseman Parker Wotherspoon who assisted on the fourth goal.
With the win, Boston moves up to eighth in our latest power ranking, fourth in the Atlantic with Stanley Cup odds at 10-1 (6th best). An 11-12 run doesn’t move them past Florida or Carolina in the East but Boston did grab a seat at the Stanley Cup contender’s table.
The Storm Is Gaining Strength
Unlike the Bruins, Jon Cooper’s team momentum has been a slow progression but after a 6-0-1 run, the rest of the league needs to take notice of the storm that could be coming in the postseason.
They may have to do it without two of their biggest stars with Brayden Point (80 points) and Viktor Hedman (69 points) listed as questionable with lower body NHL injuries.
The Lightning haven’t made their way into the upper third of our NHL power rankings (12th) but are sitting in an ominous spot (6th in the East) because if the season ended today their first-round opponent would be the Boston Bruins.
The dynamics are interesting because we think we’ll see two NHL teams struggling to enforce their will on tired legs for Boston and tired minds for Tampa with it being their first game back home in almost two weeks.
Most handicappers are under the belief that the first game home after a long trip is the toughest, especially when it includes a couple of days off.
Bettors Surprises Again
Over the years, the sharps have become more unpredictable with their wagers making line moves harder to anticipate. Tonight’s NHL match-up is a prime example.
In years past, both the public and pros would be on Tampa Bay but that’s not the case tonight after money swayed tonight’s opening number from the home team as a small favorite (-115) to a -110 pick’em, but is that because the masses think Boston is the side or because bigger money has swayed opinions.
With 70% of the early money on Tampa, it seems this is setting up to be a pros vs. Joes’ matchup because the general public is on the Lightning while respected money is on Boston, forcing the books to make this slight adjustment.
We conclude our Bruins vs Lightning betting preview with our free NHL pick being the Boston Bruins -110. We think that Linus Ullmark (19-8-7, 2.66, .913) will have a massive game in goal as he looks to match the win by Jeremy Swayman.
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