SEASON FORECASTS AND FUTURES PICKS

Oddsmakers have the Lightning as the favorite to win the championship. Even with the juice, the Lightning are a good betting value. Their 24.1% chance to win the championship (based on simulations) is #1 in the league. They are also a good bet to win the East at 3/1, 25%. Their sim chance is 35.1%. The Lightning are averaging 110.5 points per sim which makes them a decent bet to go over 108.5. At -1000 the Lightning are a good value to make the playoffs with a 98.9% chance. Their odds of winning their division are 11/10, 47.6%. They win the division in 57.4% of simulations. Based on wins per simulation they are projected to have the best record in the East.

For winning picks against the spread, total and money line for all NHL games by our proven computer model and leading handicappers visit SportsLine.com where you can also get fantasy basketball and daily fantasy optimal lineups from CBSSports' Top Experts.

REGULAR SEASON RECAP AND UPCOMING GAMES

Their 62-16-4 record last season was way ahead of what was expected of them. Their game-by-game odds gave them a projected record of 49.4-32.6. They were very good against the money line (+1714). They had a strong puck line record going 41-41 for (+1057 profit). They went over 44 times and came in under 35 times. They are heavy favorites in their upcoming game vs the Florida Panthers. The table below shows their upcoming games, their simulation based win percentage and their recent head to head record (WL, ATS, OU).

TEAM STATISTICAL STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

Since 10/2/2018 their average goal differential is +1.01 (includes playoff games) which ranks #1 in the league, which is the same as how they rank in points. They are the #1 ranked team in goal differential (based on all teams' road stats). This is the same ranking they have among home teams.

OFFENSIVE STATS PER GAME (League Rank):

DEFENSIVE STATS PER GAME (Lower # is Better):

TEAM FANTASY LEADERS

The table below show the most valuable fantasy players on the team led by Andrei Vasilevskiy who is projected to be the #1 Goalie. The Better Option column shows the player directly above him and the Better Than column shows the player directly below him in the projected position rankings.