Ottawa Senators vs Tampa Bay Lightning - Odds and Predictions

Where: Amalie Arena – Tampa, FL.

When: Tuesday, December 17, 7 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): SunS | WFAN

Ottawa Senators (Away)

Head Coach: D.J. Smith{All-Time 14-17-2 OTT}

The Sens had a huge overtime win against Columbus this weekend and will be coming off of a game against the Panthers. Forward Anthony Duclair has been on fire lately but how will the Sens do playing two strong Florida-based teams back to back?

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Offense

We start with Ottawa’s biggest, most glaring flaw: their power play. Since day one of the season, the Sens have ranked dead last in the league when it comes to the power play. They currently have a 9.57 power-play percentage – the only team below ten percent.

Ottawa has only nine power-play goals in 30 games this season. In fact, the Senators have the seventh-fewest goals scored altogether this season with 79.

The Senators also find themselves in the bottom ten when it comes to shots (the eighth-fewest) and thus they also sit in the bottom-ten in shooting percentage with an 8.7 percent.

The shining lights for the Sens when it comes to offense has been Anthony Ducalir and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Duclair leads the team with 25 points this season and Pageau has a remarkable +20 rating on the ice.

Defense

Unlike their power play, the special teams when it comes to killing penalties have actually been quite respectable for Ottawa. The team has the league’s 12th-best penalty-killing percentage at 82.57 percent and they are even tied for first in the league for the most shorthanded goals scored with five.

Ottawa sits in the middle of the pack when it comes to shots allowed on net. They haven’t allowed the most but they definitely allow more than their opponents in this matchup.

What is most interesting is that Ottawa and Tampa Bay are actually tied when it comes to team save percentage. Both teams currently hold a .902 save percentage and neither team has been able to register a shutout yet this season.

Goaltending

It has been reported that Craig Anderson will get the start for the Senators Tuesday night. Anderson has been struggling with some injury woes for much of December. He has a season record of 5-8-0. His goals-against average sits at 3.01 and he has a .901 save percentage.

Head Coach: Jon Cooper{All-Time 321-171-47 TBL}

After blocking a shot during a loss to the Washington Capitals, star forward Nikita Kucherov has been listed as day-to-day. He joins Tyler Johnson on the sidelines and the Bolts will have to find a way to win without two of their best players on the ice.

Offense

Tampa has come a long way since their horrible month of October and now they sit just outside the top-five when it comes to goals. The Bolts have scored a team total of 101 goals this season – 72 of them at even strength.

They also recently overtook the Boston Bruins for second place when it comes to the power play. With 27 power-play goals this season, the Lightning currently have an even 30 percent success rate with the man advantage.

It is likely, however, that the Lightning will be outshot in this game. Tampa Bay still finds themselves in the league’s basement, having the fifth-lowest shot total this season (Ottawa has 35 more shots on net than the Bolts).

The Bolts have also allowed three shorthanded goals against this season, so that is something to watch out for in this game.

Defense

Defensively, the Lightning don’t carry many advantages. They have allowed fewer goals than the Sens this season but they still only rank 12th in the league in that category.

Tampa’s penalty-killing unit also ranks six spots below Ottawa’s. Their current penalty-killing percentage sits at 79.35 percent.

The Lightning does sit within the league’s top-ten when it comes to shots against. Tampa has allowed the ninth-fewest shots against. With that said, when it comes to the average amount of shots they allow per game, these two teams are, once again, equal.

Goaltending

Expect to see Vezina award-winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal Tuesday night for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Vasilevskiy has gone 13-9-1 this season with a GAA of 2.84 and a save percentage of .909.

These two teams have already played once this season, very early in the year of October 12. It was the Ottawa Senators who came away with the win, defeating the Lightning by a final score of 4-2.

This is a big opportunity for the Lightning to keep making up some ground in the standings.

Tampa had a rough start to the season and have recently started to make some headway. They still have their inconsistencies and injuries have played their part, but Tampa is definitely the team that could make more of the two points given for a win. Ottawa still sits at under-500 for the season.

Questions to Answer

What will the energy level of the Ottawa Senators be heading into Tuesday night? This game against the Lightning is game two of a back-to-back where they also play against the strong Florida Panthers.

Will Craig Anderson be in net for the Sens? Although he is reported as the expected goaltender for Tuesday’s game, Anderson has been struggling with knee issues stemming back from late November.

How will the Lightning deal with their own injuries? They will be short Tyler Johnson and now Nikita Kucherov. Both are listed as day-to-day but will certainly be out for this game against Ottawa.

Ottawa Senators Injury Report

F Clarke MacArthur – IR/NR (back)

F Ryan Callahan – IR/NR (back)

F Marian Gaborik – IR/NR (back)

D Dylan DeMelo – DL (finger)

F Scott Sabourin – DL (concussion)

D Christian Wolanin – IR/NR (shoulder)

Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Report

D Braydon Coburn – DL (lower-body)

F Tyler Johnson – day-to-day (lower-body)

F Nikita Kucherov – day-to-day (lower-body)

Ottawa Senators vs Tampa Bay Lightning Odds

The latest odds for this game are provided by bet365 NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook, and Sugarhouse NJ.

Good luck!

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