The Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning met once already. That late December matchup ended with a wild 5-4 Lightning win.
This time around, Tampa has to hit the road. The Lightning are trying to solidify a playoff spot these days, one that probably won’t wind up in the Atlantic Division’s top three. Let’s see if they can continue surging on the road.
Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are fighting for third in the Pacific Division. As things stand now, Vegas is instead the final wild-card team in the West. Every pair of points matters, so they should bring their best tonight.
An Eastern Conference wild-card team and a Western Conference wild-card team have a scheduled date in Vegas. What happens next?
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Odds
| Team | Puck Line | Total | MoneyLine |
| Lightning | +1.5
-218 |
O 6.5
-105 |
+114 |
| Golden Knights | -1.5
+180 |
U 6.5
-115 |
-135 |
| **Odds Courtesy of DraftKings** | |||
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Match Details
- Fixture: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Vegas Golden Knights
- Date and Time: Tuesday, March 19, 2024, 10:00 p.m. EST
- Venue: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada
Apex Tale of the Tape
| Golden Knights | vs. | Lightning |
| 36-24-7 | Record | 36-25-6 |
| 3.16 | Goals Per Game | 3.46 |
| 31.1 | Shots Per Game | 29.1 |
| 10.2% | Shooting Percentage | 11.9% |
| 19.0% | Power Play | 28.9% |
| 49.5% | Faceoff | 51.4% |
| 481 | Penalty Minutes | 774 |
| 2.96 | Goals Against Per Game | 3.36 |
| 30.9 | Shots Against Per Game | 29.7 |
| .909 | Save Percentage | .894 |
| 80.8% | Penalty Kill | 81.2% |
| 3 | Shutouts | 4 |
Key Stats
Vegas Golden Knights
- Jonathan Marchessault leads Vegas in goals (37) and points (58)
- Tomas Hertl and Mark Stone are out for this game
- The Golden Knights are 3-2-0 in their last five
Tampa Bay Lightning
- Nikita Kucherov is leading all NHL players in power play points (43) and points per game (1.73). He is second in points (114) and tied for second in assists (74) this season
- Tampa Bay has the best power play percentage in the league
- Mikhail Sergachev and Tanner Jeannot are out for this game
- The Lightning have scored 18 goals in their last three games with at least 5 in each win
- Tampa is 4-1-0 in their last five
Match Prediction
Tampa Bay is on fire right now, especially offensively. Their trio of high-scoring wins came against playoff teams with strong goaltending, the Rangers, Flyers, and Panthers. Nothing will stop their offense these days.
The Golden Knights may have won three of their last four, but before that Vegas had dropped seven of eight. In Vegas’ last 12 games, eight opponents have scored at least four goals. Tampa’s offense will stay hot in a winning effort.
Final Pick
Tampa Bay Lightning ML (+114); Tampa Bay Lightning Over 3.5 Team Total Goals (+150)
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Follow Andre on Twitter at @TowerTalkSports. You can also reach out to Andre Ifill via email at andre.ifill.jr@gmail.com. For Andre’s hockey talk, listen to this podcast every weekday. Andre also discusses the NFL, NBA, and MLB here. You can read and follow Andre’s betting picks at Winners and Whiners or read more of his stuff here on Total Apex Sports. He has spent years writing, talking, and picking sports professionally at the highest level.
