Tampa Bay Lightning vs Boston Bruins: Game Preview, Predictions, Odds, Betting Tips & more | Jan 6th 2024

The Boston Bruins (23-8-6) will face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning (19-16-5) at TD Garden on Saturday, Jan 6, at 7 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN+, NESN, and BSSUN.

Boston's recent home game on Jan. 4 resulted in a 6-5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, while Tampa Bay secured a 4-1 victory on the road against the Wild.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins: Game preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning emerged victorious with a 4-1 win in their recent game against the Wild. Throughout the season, Tampa Bay has been averaging 3.25 goals, but their defense has struggled, conceding an average of 3.4 goals per game.

Despite ranking 14th in offense, Nikita Kucherov has been a standout player, accumulating 64 points at a rate of 1.6 per game, including 27 goals and 37 assists in 39 games.

Leading the scoring for Tampa Bay is Brayden Point, who has notched a total of 40 points, comprising 17 goals and 23 assists in 40 games.

In goal, Andrei Vasilevskiy holds a 9-8-0 record for the season, allowing 47 goals with a 2.8 GAA. He made 434 saves, maintaining a .902 SV%.

Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins have displayed a strong defensive performance this season. However, they encountered difficulties in their recent game against the Penguins, allowing six goals, and ultimately suffered a defeat.

On average for the season, Boston is scoring 3.27 goals while conceding 2.65 goals per game on the defensive end.

David Pastrnak has been a standout contributor for Boston, contributing 53 points with 23 goals and 30 assists, averaging 0.6 goals per game with a 12.5% shooting accuracy.

Brad Marchand, with 15 goals and 20 assists, is a key offensive option for Boston, amassing 35 points.

In goal, Linus Ullmark holds a solid record of 12-5-2, maintaining a 2.77 GAA and an impressive .918 SV%.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins: Head-to-head and significant numbers

• The Bruins and Lightning have faced each other in a total of 133 games, spanning both regular season and playoffs, with the Bruins holding an overall record of 77-45-9-2 (61.3%) against the Lightning.
• In regular season contests alone, the Bruins maintain a formidable 71-33-9-2 (65.7%) record against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
• The longest winning streak that the Boston Bruins have enjoyed over the Lightning consists of 10 games, starting on Mar 12, 2012, with a 5-2 victory and extending until Mar 12, 2015.
• Currently, the Bruins showcase a +23 goal differential, ranking them 6th in the league while the Lightning's -6 goal differential positions them 21st in the league.
• Boston excels in penalty killing, boasting an 85.51% success rate, 3rd best in the league, while Lightning's 80.53% penalty kill percentage places them 14th in the league.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins: Odds and prediction

Boston has enjoyed success as the favorite in 19 out of 32 games this season. With a record of 14-6 when playing with odds shorter than -161, the Bruins have a 61.7% chance of winning this game.

In contrast, the Lightning managed to pull off upset victories in seven out of the 19 games they played as underdogs, achieving a success rate of 36.8%. Tampa Bay won both games where they had odds of +136 or longer, and according to the odds, the win probability for the lightning stands at 42.4%.

Prediction: Bruins 6-4 Lightning

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins: Betting tips

Tip 1: Result: Bruins to win in 60 minutes

Tip 2: Total goals over 6: Yes

Tip 3: David Pastrnak to score anytime: Yes

Tip 4: Lightning to beat the spread: No.