Tampa Bay Lightning at New Jersey Devils, NHL forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with every score and the time left. Above the line favors NJ; hover for each play.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Lightning- Nikita KucherovGoals1
- Ryan McDonaghAssists1
- Nikita KucherovPoints1
Devils- Stefan NoesenGoals1
- Dougie HamiltonAssists1
- Stefan NoesenPoints1
Scoring summary
- OT3:19Stefan Noesen Goal (17) Snap Shot, assists: Jack Hughes (35), Jesper Bratt (36)2–3
- P38:05Nikita Kucherov Goal (18) Wrist Shot, assists: Brandon Hagel (27), Ryan McDonagh (12)2–2
- P215:16Jack Hughes Goal (17) Wrist Shot, assists: none1–2
- P19:57Victor Hedman Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: Nick Paul (13)1–1
- P18:10Ondrej Palat Goal (10) Tip-In, assists: Dougie Hamilton (23), Jesper Bratt (35)0–1
Turning points
The 5 plays that swung the win chance most, each judged at its own moment: the chance with the score just before it against just after.
- P18:10Ondrej Palat Goal (10) Tip-In, assists: Dougie Hamilton (23), Jesper Bratt (35)TB 0 – 1 NJ · NJ 56% → 70% +15NJ 56% → 70%+15 pts
- P19:57Victor Hedman Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: Nick Paul (13)TB 1 – 1 NJ · TB 29% → 44% +15TB 29% → 44%+15 pts
- P215:16Jack Hughes Goal (17) Wrist Shot, assists: noneTB 1 – 2 NJ · NJ 54% → 75% +21NJ 54% → 75%+21 pts
- P38:05Nikita Kucherov Goal (18) Wrist Shot, assists: Brandon Hagel (27), Ryan McDonagh (12)TB 2 – 2 NJ · TB 19% → 47% +29TB 19% → 47%+29 pts
- OT3:19Stefan Noesen Goal (17) Snap Shot, assists: Jack Hughes (35), Jesper Bratt (36)TB 2 – 3 NJ · NJ 51% → 99% +48NJ 51% → 99%+48 pts
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Devils 56%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: NHL favorites the forecast gave 55–60% have won 56.4% of 1,035 graded games.
- Market
- NJ 56%
- ML TB +120 / NJ -140
- Pre-line forecast
- NJ 60%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- NJ 52%
- Ratings vs. market
- −4.6 pts
- NJ: Elo 51.6%, market 56.2%
- Fair odds
- NJ -128
- TB +128 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- TB 3.1 – 3.4 NJ
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 6.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | TB | NJ | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1540 | 1515 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +35 | Worth 35 Elo in the NHL |
| Starting goalies | +10 | +11 | TB: Andrei Vasilevskiy: team allows 0.24 fewer goals than with its usual starter (≈41 weighted starts) · NJ: Jacob Markstrom: team allows 0.28 fewer goals than with its usual starter (≈40 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | NJ +11 Elo | NJ 51.6% | |
| Market-implied ratings | NJ 61.7% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | NJ 59.7% | 20% Elo, 80% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | NJ 56.2% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Overtime and shootout losses count as losses in these records. Shot share is a team's share of the shots on goal in its games. PDO adds shooting and save percentages: far from 100 tends to even out.
| TB | Stat | NJ |
|---|---|---|
| 1st of 323.7 | Goals scored | 3.211th of 32 |
| 7th of 322.8 | Goals allowed | 2.54th of 32 |
| 3rd of 32+0.9 | Margin | +0.66th of 32 |
| 14th of 3250.0% | Shot share | 54.0%4th of 32 |
| 3rd of 3291.1% | Save percentage | 90.7%8th of 32 |
| 11th of 325–5 | Last 10 | 4–621st of 32 |
| 14th of 329–10 | Road vs home | 11–914th of 32 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  TB |  NJ |
|---|---|---|
| Puck line | 21–18 | 20–24 |
| Last 10 | 6–4 | 3–7 |
| Favorite | 13–12 | 17–22 |
| Underdog | 8–6 | 3–2 |
| Overs–unders | 16–23 | 14–30 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 2–8 | 2–8 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
TB 5–0 NJ in their last 5 meetings; the forecast called 2 of 5.