Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Tuesday 4/16/19
There are already two teams looking to advance to the next round of the NHL playoffs as both the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders have a 3-0 lead in their series. The Blue Jackets are the big story, looking to knock out the team with the top record in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Islanders look to sweep the Pittsburgh Penguins. In other great action, the Winnipeg Jets take on the St. Louis Blues.
Featured Game
Tampa Bay Lightning(-141) vs.Columbus Blue Jackets(+120)
The Columbus Blue Jackets are about to pull off one of the biggest playoff upsets in NHL history. Sergei Bobrovsky had been tough through the first two games, but he was the deciding factor in Game 3, stopping 30 of 31 shots faced. Cam Atkinson and Matt Duchene each scored their second goal of the series.
Goaltending Matchup:
Andrei Vasilevskiy finally put together a solid performance in this series, allowing just two goals on 29 shots, but it was still not good enough. He has allowed 11 total goals in this series. Vasilevskiy finished the season 39-10-3 with a 2.40 goals-against average.
Sergei Bobrovsky has been a beast, winning four straight games now. He has allowed just five goals through the first three games of this series, including one in each of the last two games. Bobrovsky is 9-1-0 in his last 10 starts and finished the regular season 37-24-1 with a 2.58 goals-against average.
Trends to Watch:
The Tampa Bay Lightning are…
0-3 in their last three games
48-16 in their last 64 games.
41-17 in their last 58 on the road.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are…
10-1 in their last 11 games.
6-1 in their last seven games at home.
5-0 in their last five games against Eastern Conference teams.
Stat Pack:
Lightning:
Goals For: 3.89
Goals Against: 2.70
Power-Play: 28.2%
Penalty Killing: 85.0%
Blue Jackets:
Goals For: 3.12
Goals Against: 2.82
Power-Play: 15.4%
Penalty Killing: 85.0%
Prediction
While no one may be saying this out loud, the Tampa Bay Lightning are playing scared. They look like a team that simply does not belong on the same ice as the Blue Jackets. They have no answers for Vasilevskiy. Normally a desperate team is a dangerous team, but not in the series. Columbus is playing like the team that had the best record in the NHL, and that will lead them to sweep their way into the next round.
The total is set at 6.0 for this contest, but Game 4 is going to be very much like Game 3. Tampa Bay should dominate the play, have numerous scoring opportunities as the Blue Jackets clung to an early lead. However, they are simply not going to find a solution to beating Vasilevskiy. Take the Columbus Blue Jackets to win, 3-1.
Two Games to Watch
New York Islanders (+149) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (-165)
Vasilevskiy is not the only goalie stymieing his opponent. Robin Lehner has been absolutely brilliant, allowing one goal in each of his last start, including a 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 3. Lehner made 25 saves for the New York Islanders and Jordan Eberle scored his third goal of the series.
WhyNew YorkWins:
Islanders are 4-0 in their last four games on the road.
Islanders are 4-0 in their last four games against teams with a winning record.
Penguins have lost four straight games.
Penguins are 1-4 in their last five conference quarterfinals games.
Islanders are 6-2 in the last eight meetings between these two teams.
Lehner has won four straight games, allowing five total goals and that span.
Matt Murray has allowed 14 total goals in his last four starts.
WhyPittsburgh Wins:
Penguins are 121-55 in their last 176 games at home.
Islanders are 1-6 in the last seven games on a Tuesday.
The home team has won four of the last five meetings.
Penguins are 31-11 in the last 42 meetings in Pittsburgh.
What About the Total?
Gounder 5.5, because…
Lehner has a 1.00 goals-against average in his last two starts.
The total has gone under in each of the last two games in this series.
The total has gone under in seven of the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
Winnipeg Jets (+120) vs. St. Louis Blues (-145)
The visiting team has won all three games in this series so far, as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the St. Louis Blues in Missouri on Sunday night, 6-3. St. Louis took a 1-0 lead in the first., But would give up three goals in the second. Kyle Connor scored his first two goals of the playoffs and four Jets players had two points in the game.
Why Winnipeg Wins:
Jets are 7-3 in their last 10 games when playing on one day’s rest.
Jets are 12-5 in the last 17 meetings between these two teams.
Jets have won the last four meetings in St. Louis.
Road team has won the last five meetings in this series.
Connor Binnington gave up six goals in his last start for St. Louis
Why St. Louis Wins:
Blues are 4-1 in their last five games.
Blues are 14-3 in their last 17 games at home.
Jets are 3-7 in their last 10 games.
Jets are 5-11 in their last 16 conference quarterfinals games
What About the Total?
Go over 5.5, because…
Jets scored six goals in their last game.
Total has gone over in the last two games of this series.
Winnipeg has gone over in four of their last five games on the road.
Winnipeg has gone over in five of their last seven games.
NHL
Long Sheet
Tuesday, April 16
TAMPA BAY (62-19-0-4, 128 pts.) at COLUMBUS (50-31-0-4, 104 pts.) - 4/16/2019, 7:08 PM
Top Trends for this game.
COLUMBUS is 34-13 ATS (+17.9 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak over the last 3 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 62-23 ATS (+19.1 Units) in all games this season.
TAMPA BAY is 29-11 ATS (+12.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is 6 or more this season.
TAMPA BAY is 15-5 ATS (+21.1 Units) in road games when trailing in a playoff series since 1996.
TAMPA BAY is 9-2 ATS (+11.1 Units) after 3 or more consecutive losses over the last 3 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 67-36 ATS (+18.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 251-249 ATS (+521.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
COLUMBUS is 6-6 (+2.8 Units) against the spread versus TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
COLUMBUS is 6-6-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.2 Units)
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NY ISLANDERS (51-27-0-7, 109 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (44-28-0-13, 101 pts.) - 4/16/2019, 7:38 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NY ISLANDERS are 53-86 ATS (-34.6 Units) after a 3 game unbeaten streak since 1996.
NY ISLANDERS are 51-34 ATS (+15.6 Units) in all games this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 13-7 ATS (+20.1 Units) in a road game where where the total is 5.5 this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 8-1 ATS (+9.0 Units) in April games over the last 2 seasons.
NY ISLANDERS are 30-17 ATS (+8.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 21-10 ATS (+31.8 Units) vs. division opponents this season.
NY ISLANDERS are 21-9 ATS (+11.4 Units) after a division game this season.
PITTSBURGH is 44-41 ATS (+91.5 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 1-5 ATS (-8.1 Units) in April games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 13-17 ATS (-12.9 Units) after a division game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
NY ISLANDERS is 8-7 (+4.9 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
NY ISLANDERS is 8-7-0 straight up against PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
7 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-1.3 Units, Under=-0.2 Units)
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WINNIPEG (48-32-0-5, 101 pts.) at ST LOUIS (47-29-0-9, 103 pts.) - 4/16/2019, 9:38 PM
Top Trends for this game.
WINNIPEG is 12-16 ATS (-10.9 Units) after a win by 2 goals or more this season.
ST LOUIS is 32-16 ATS (+5.5 Units) second half of the season this season.
ST LOUIS is 26-17 ATS (+2.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
ST LOUIS is 14-5 ATS (+19.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season this season.
WINNIPEG is 18-8 ATS (+27.4 Units) in road games in April games since 1996.
WINNIPEG is 31-24 ATS (+61.8 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.
WINNIPEG is 16-11 ATS (+30.4 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
WINNIPEG is 11-5 (+5.3 Units) against the spread versus ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
WINNIPEG is 11-5-0 straight up against ST LOUIS over the last 3 seasons
8 of 15 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+0.9 Units)
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SAN JOSE (47-29-0-9, 103 pts.) at VEGAS (45-33-0-7, 97 pts.) - 4/16/2019, 10:38 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN JOSE is 47-38 ATS (-14.3 Units) in all games this season.
SAN JOSE is 15-16 ATS (-11.9 Units) after a division game this season.
VEGAS is 48-23 ATS (+17.5 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 2 seasons.
VEGAS is 46-24 ATS (+11.2 Units) after a division game over the last 2 seasons.
VEGAS is 55-40 ATS (-0.6 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
SAN JOSE is 62-46 ATS (+113.9 Units) in road games in April games since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 91-57 ATS (+26.1 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 29-23 ATS (+59.0 Units) in road games in the first round of the playoffs since 1996.
SAN JOSE is 225-240 ATS (+507.2 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a winning record since 1996.
VEGAS is 45-40 ATS (-3.2 Units) in all games this season.
VEGAS is 22-21 ATS (-12.1 Units) second half of the season this season.
VEGAS is 13-16 ATS (-14.6 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
VEGAS is 11-6 (+5.0 Units) against the spread versus SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
VEGAS is 11-6-0 straight up against SAN JOSE over the last 3 seasons
12 of 17 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+6.6 Units)
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37Tampa Bay -38 Columbus
TAMPA BAY is 11-0 ATS (11 Units) off a road loss in the current season.
39Ny Islanders -40 Pittsburgh
NY ISLANDERS are 11-0 ATS (11 Units) in road games off a win against a division rival over the last 2 seasons.
41Winnipeg -42 St Louis
ST LOUIS are 17-3 ATS (14.9 Units) against good passing teams - averaging 5 or more assists per game in the 2nd half of the year in the current season.
43San Jose -44 Vegas
VEGAS are 1-7 ATS (-8.5 Units) against poor starting goalies - saving <= 89.5% of shots against in the current season.
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