Tampa Bay Lightning at Boston Bruins, NHL forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with every score and the time left. Above the line favors BOS; hover for each play.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Lightning- Conor GeekieGoals1
- Darren RaddyshAssists1
- Conor GeekiePoints1
Bruins- Pavel ZachaGoals1
- Pavel ZachaAssists2
- David PastrnakPoints3
Scoring summary
- P316:56Pavel Zacha Goal (10) Wrist Shot, assists: Brad Marchand (19), Nikita Zadorov (9)2–6
- P316:30Andrew Peeke Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Elias Lindholm (15)2–5
- P219:42Victor Hedman Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Nikita Kucherov (43), Nick Paul (14)2–4
- P28:50Conor Geekie Goal (6) Tip-In, assists: Victor Hedman (27), Darren Raddysh (14)1–4
- P26:05David Pastrnak Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: Pavel Zacha (14), Andrew Peeke (9)0–4
- P21:13Brad Marchand Goal (16) Wrist Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (28)0–3
- P19:31Parker Wotherspoon Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (27), Pavel Zacha (13)0–2
- P14:24Trent Frederic Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Matthew Poitras (4), Charlie Coyle (5)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.
- P14:24Trent Frederic Goal (7) Wrist Shot, assists: Matthew Poitras (4), Charlie Coyle (5)TB 0 – 1 BOS · BOS 45% → 60% +15BOS 45% → 60%+15 pts
- P19:31Parker Wotherspoon Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (27), Pavel Zacha (13)TB 0 – 2 BOS · BOS 61% → 75% +14BOS 61% → 75%+14 pts
- P21:13Brad Marchand Goal (16) Wrist Shot, assists: David Pastrnak (28)TB 0 – 3 BOS · BOS 79% → 90% +11BOS 79% → 90%+11 pts
- P26:05David Pastrnak Goal (20) Snap Shot, assists: Pavel Zacha (14), Andrew Peeke (9)TB 0 – 4 BOS · BOS 91% → 97% +5BOS 91% → 97%+5 pts
- P219:42Victor Hedman Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Nikita Kucherov (43), Nick Paul (14)TB 2 – 4 BOS · TB 4% → 12% +8TB 4% → 12%+8 pts
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Lightning 55%
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
- TB 55%
- ML TB -135 / BOS +115
- Pre-line forecast
- TB 52%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- TB 53%
- Ratings vs. market
- −2.6 pts
- TB: Elo 52.7%, market 55.3%
- Fair odds
- TB -124
- BOS +124 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- TB 2.9 – 2.6 BOS
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 5.5
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 | BOS | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1542 | 1498 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +35 | Worth 35 Elo in the NHL |
| Starting goalies | +10 | 0 | TB: Andrei Vasilevskiy: team allows 0.25 fewer goals than with its usual starter (≈42 weighted starts) · BOS: Jeremy Swayman: team allows 0.01 fewer goals than with its usual starter (≈41 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | TB +19 Elo | TB 52.7% | |
| Market-implied ratings | TB 52.0% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | TB 52.1% | 20% Elo, 80% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | TB 55.3% | 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 | BOS |
|---|---|---|
| 1st of 323.7 | Goals scored | 2.628th of 32 |
| 8th of 322.8 | Goals allowed | 3.223rd of 32 |
| 3rd of 32+0.9 | Margin | −0.627th of 32 |
| 16th of 3249.7% | Shot share | 49.9%14th of 32 |
| 4th of 3291.1% | Save percentage | 89.4%26th of 32 |
| 13th of 325–5 | Last 10 | 3–726th of 32 |
| 14th of 3210–11 | Road vs home | 12–1015th 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 |  BOS |
|---|---|---|
| Puck line | 23–18 | 16–29 |
| Last 10 | 7–3 | 5–5 |
| Favorite | 14–12 | 8–19 |
| Underdog | 9–6 | 8–10 |
| Overs–unders | 17–24 | 21–24 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 3–7 | 4–6 |
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 4–1 BOS in their last 5 meetings; the forecast called 4 of 5.