Total Play For Kings And Lightning

Kings vs. Lightning, 7:00 ET

I'm hot, ladies and gentlemen. This was a great football weekend where I called the picks and even hit a +900 first touchdown scorer. I then called the National Championship where I said Michigan would win by a touchdown or more. The great news is if you followed, your bankroll is looking like the Monopoly man right now. The bad news is that it has nothing to do with hockey which is what I'm sharing with you today. I'm hoping that luck will roll over now that college football is over and we can get a victory here in the game between the Kings and Lightning.

The Kings are coming into this contest in extremely poor form. They have lost their past five games. Now, the good news is they are competitive in the majority of them. They were shutout once, but the other four losses were all by just one goal. In fact, two of the losses were in a shootout. Sometimes the puck just doesn't bounce their way. That seems to be the case right now. Traveling across country for games is never easy and I don't expect it to be easy for them right now, but the good news is this isn't the first game of the East Coast trip, this is the second as they lost to Washington a couple of days ago. On the season, the Kings have been the better defense, allowing just 2.42 goals per game to opponents. Even with Tampa's strong offense, they should struggle a bit in this one. The Kings also have been very good on the road going 13-3-1 compared to just 7-7-5 at home.

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 29: Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the third period in Game Six of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on April 29, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mark LoMoglio/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Lightning looked like they were going to be a dynasty, but now they look like a pretty average team. You still can't take away the championships they have won, but I personally expected a bit longer success from them. The Lightning currently sit at just 19-17-5 on the season. Their success has come on their home ice though as they've gone 11-5-3 this season. Over their past five games, they are just 2-3, alternating wins and losses. Three of those games were on the road and include getting hammered by the Bruins 7-3. Their success remains on the offensive side and they are scoring 3.24 goals per game on the season. One area of success for the Lightning has been the Power Play where they are scoring on almost 30% of their attempts. The problem is that they are allowing 3.49 goals per game. Having a positive record despite the difference in goals allowed is still pretty impressive.

When the Lightning win the game it usually is due to really good offensive production and simply outlasting their opponent on defense. When the Kings win games it usually is because they can shut down their opponent. I personally don't think either of these teams will allow a shutout tonight, and the Kings have allowed at least three goals in each of their past five games. I just need a simple 4-3 game to cash this play, which is over 6 for the game.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on Twitter: @futureprez2024