Tampa Bay Lightning vs Minnesota Wild Line
Tonight (Monday, November 28) the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning travel to play the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota, where the Minnesota Wild are the +137 favorites at popular online sports betting site, Bodog.ca.
Bodog NHL betting line:
| Minnesota Wild vs Tampa Bay Lightning | ||
| Home | Draw | Away |
| +137 | +275 | +160 |
The Minnesota Wild will start as the slight betting favorites this evening, and will be more determined than ever to make their mark against Tampa Bay, despite coming off a grueling divisional matchup against the Calgary Flames last time out, which saw them beaten 5-2.
Wild are Hungry to Remain on Top of the Northwest
Despite that bruising result, the Wild are hungry to remain on top of the Northwest division. But to make that happen they have to rack up a victory against Tampa Bay. Of course, this may be easier said than done - despite their home advantage - considering the Lightning have come off two impressive back-to-back wins over the Florida Panthers (2-1 and 5-1).
So, as eager as the Minnesota Wild are to maintain their dominant position in the NHL, they can ill-afford to be complacent against their visitors this evening, considering the Lightning appear to have dug themselves out of their recent and inexplicable slump which had even some of their most loyal fans scratching their heads in wonderment.
As their recent double victory over the Panthers showed, when the Lightning do fire on all cylinders, their rivals tend to fall by the wayside. It won't be lost on NHL betting fans that for most of the season Tampa Bay have boasted one of the best offenses in the league - on paper, as their collective skills have failed so often to translate to points and thus wins.
Lightning Could Still do Serious Damage in Southeast
But that might all be about to change. Consider Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson, for instance, who seems to have had a fire lit underneath him and is finally starting to showcase the kind of talent expected of him. If he and other key Tampa Bay players can get back into the swing of things, they could still do some serious damage in the Southeast division before the season is through.
And speaking of offensives, the Minnesota Wild may be a bit sparse in terms of star power this evening on that side of the puck considering that some of their key players will be sitting this game out. That said, they'll no doubt rely heavily on the talents of wingers Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguch, both form Sharks players, and both able to pack a powerful punch.
