NHL FREE PICK

Tampa Bay Lightning (32-15-5) VS Dallas Stars (23-19-8)
Thursday Feb 5th 8:30 pm
LINE : Tampa -115, Dallas -105
TOTAL: 5.5 goals, Over -120 Under+110
Tampa: 3-2 in last 5 games
Tampa: O/U 2-3 last 5 games
Dallas: 2-3 in last 5 games
Dallas: O/U 2-3 last 5 games

The Tampa Bay Lightning travel to Dallas to play the Stars for the 1st time this season. If you like fast paced hockey and goals make sure to tune into this one. These are the 2 highest scoring teams in the NHL. An incredible 8 players in this game are in the top 60 in scoring, lead by #2 overall scorer Tyler Seguin of the Stars with 56 pts and Tampa’s Tyler Johnson whose 49 pts are good for 12th. These 2 teams haven’t gotten off to the second half start they wanted to, both going 2-2. Tampa leads the East with 69 points and has their sights on a top seed in the playoffs. The Stars are in dire straights, tied for 10th in the West and need to make a run starting now.

The Stars slow 2nd half start is not for lack of scoring. They’ve netted 15 goals in last 4 games with Seguin and Jamie Benn combining for 10 pts. Dallas has gone OVER in 11 of its last 15 games. The Stars goalies have had a rough season giving up an average with 3.2 goals a game good for 27th. On the other hand Tampa’s goaltending/defense on the road has been putrid giving up an average of over 4 goals a game leading to an 11-15 road record. Their terrible defense combined with their high powered offense has cashed the OVER in 18 of Tampa’s 26 road games this season. Expect a back and forth game with goalies Ben Bishop and Kari Lehtonen having a long night.

Today’s Free NHL pick is Tampa/Dallas OVER 5.5 goals -120.

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