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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Face-off: 1900 ET, 16/04/2022
Arena: Amalie Arena
Tampa Bay’s form has been patchy of late but they can close in on a top-three finish in the Atlantic Division by seeing off Winnipeg.
The Jets are outsiders for a wild card spot in the Western Conference and last night’s 6-1 thrashing at Florida may have knocked the stuffing out of them.
Let’s take 4.5 for a home win by exactly three goals in our Tampa Bay Lightning vs Winnipeg Jets predictions.
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Tampa Bay just about managed to clinch a place in the playoffs when scrambling past Anaheim here on Thursday.
The Lightning needed a Nikita Kucherov equaliser with just 13 seconds on the clock to send the game into overtime.
Anthony Cirelli then netted after 1:58 of the extra period to clinch a 4-3 victory.
“You take pride in that, there’s no doubt, because this is a tough league to win in,” declared coach Jon Cooper. “A ton of credit goes to the players, because it’s hard.
“We’ve won a couple of Stanley Cups and there’s ample opportunity for guys to take a breath, but they haven’t, and they keep pushing forward and doing it in different ways.”
With Boston just three points behind in fourth, the pressure is still on Tampa Bay, though, and Cooper will be looking for a more convincing display here.
A fast start would help to settle any nerves and 2.15 for the Lightning to lead after the first period appeals from the NHL odds.
Winnipeg kept alive their post-season hopes by going 10-5-1 through March but this month has seen them falter down the stretch.
Last night’s heavy defeat at Florida left them eight points adrift of a wild card spot and facing an early end to their campaign.
“That’s why we’re not in a playoff spot,” admitted Nikolaj Ehlers, who grabbed the consolation goal at FLA Live Arena.
“We haven’t played the right way in a lot of games. You see what that leads to. Everyone needs to be held accountable.”
Coach Dave Lowry added: “We look at the result here and it’s extremely disappointing. The way we played isn’t winning hockey.”
Getting Blake Wheeler and Jansen Harkins back from injury was a boost, but both seemed in need of the outing and are unlikely to be much sharper tonight.
Pretty much everything is in Tampa Bay’s favour, so 14.0 for a 5-2 home victory completes our NHL predictions.
Additional stats
Last result:
TAMPA BAY 4-3 Anaheim (OT)
Florida 6-1 WINNIPEG
Season head-to-head: Winnipeg 7-4 Tampa Bay
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