by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Feb 25, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
Where to watch: BSSUNX, BSDET
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Lightning -150, Red Wings +130
FanDuel: Lightning -156, Red Wings +130
BetMGM: Lightning -165, Red Wings +140
Caesars: Lightning -150, Red Wings +130
Season record
Lightning: 36-17-4
Red Wings: 28-21-8
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Lightning - Red Wings preview, prediction and analysis
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, February 24 in Detroit, Michigan.
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, February 23 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with a score of 6-5 in overtime. The Tampa Bay Lightning currently rank 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
Brayden Point had a goal and three assists for the Lightning (36-17-4), who have lost three of four (1-1-2). Vasilevskiy made 17 saves.
"There were a lot of mistakes tonight, and they all wound up in the back of the net," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "I'm not disappointed with the effort. It's the mentality. I give the guys credit for coming back. It takes effort to come back like that."
Steven Stamkos gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 2:19 of the first period. He skated in on a rush and shot over Comrie's left shoulder from the right circle. Zemgus Girgensons tied it 1-1 at 11:41 when Dahlin's backdoor pass redirected five-hole off his skate.
Tage Thompson gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 9:36 of the second period, finishing a cross-ice pass from Skinner at the right post on a power play. He then made it 3-1 at 12:20 on a breakaway off a stretch pass from Skinner.
Victor Hedman responded 16 seconds later to cut it to 3-2, scoring with a slap shot from the left circle that went in off the near post.
Jack Quinn pushed it to 4-2 at 13:25 from the right hash marks. Point got the Lightning back to within 4-3 at 5:48 of the third period, beating Comrie five-hole with a backhand on a breakaway.
"If we want to play good hockey down the stretch, we've got to figure it out now," Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon said. "We got it back and got a point, but these teams are crawling for a playoff spot. We're going to get a hot Detroit team (on Saturday) and a Pittsburgh team that's desperate to win hockey games (on Sunday). It's playoff hockey down the stretch. We can't give up four breakaways."
Thompson completed the hat trick at 6:18 of the third period to put Buffalo ahead 5-3, slipping a backhand five-hole on Vasilevskiy on a breakaway.
Anthony Cirelli cut it to 5-4 at 8:33, pushing a loose puck in after Erik Cernak's backhand centering pass redirected behind Comrie off the stick of Dahlin. Ross Colton tied it 5-5 with a power-play goal at 14:54.
"I thought we pushed well in the third," Cirelli said. "We battled hard and got ourselves back in the game. I thought we showed some pretty good fight to come back and tie it up, but in the end, it wasn't good enough."
Ilya Lyubushkin won it for Buffalo while short-handed at 1:41 of overtime.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won five of their last 10 games.
The Detroit Red Wings won against the New York Rangers on Thursday, February 23 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with a score of 4-1. The Detroit Red Wings currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Michael Rasmussen had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (28-21-8), who have won seven of their past eight games to remain in the Eastern Conference wild card race.
"I think this game puts us above the cutline, which means a lot to us," Copp said. "I think we've found our recipe. We have been really strong defensively, our special teams are rolling, and this guy [goalie Ville Husso] has been pretty good."
David Perron, the third member of the line with Copp and Rasmussen, had two assists, and Husso made 30 saves in Detroit's first home game since Feb. 11.
"We went all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast and did a good job [on Tuesday] against [the] Washington [Capitals], and then we came back here," Husso said. "We didn't skate yesterday, we didn't have a morning skate today, and we came out ready to play."
The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 15:33 of the first period when Copp tipped in Rasmussen's pass from the edge of the crease. Vincent Trocheck tied it 1-1 at 6:06 of the second period, taking advantage of a Robert Hagg turnover to score from the slot.
Dylan Larkin stole the puck at the Rangers blue line and set up Filip Zadina to make it 2-1 at 8:18. Larkin has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.
"That was a huge goal because we had started to get our game back after the long trip, and all of a sudden we blow up and the puck is in our net," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "We needed that goal to get the momentum back and [Zadina] stepped up."
New York nearly tied it at 17:09, but Husso kicked out his left skate to rob Adam Fox.
"I saw him coming, so I just tried to move in that direction," Husso said. "It was a very lucky save."
Rasmussen then made it 3-1 at 18:02, tapping in Perron's pass after Halak's initial stop.
"When you get on a run like this, it is usually because everyone is contributing," Lalonde said. "We've been doing this with a top-six forward (Lucas Raymond) out, and that line has been a big part of it."
Filip Hronek scored a power-play goal at 4:51 of the third period for the 4-1 final.
The Detroit Red Wings have won seven of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Red Wings 4, Lightning 3
The Tampa Bay Lightning lost against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, February 23 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with a score of 6-5 in overtime. The Tampa Bay Lightning currently rank 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
Brayden Point had a goal and three assists for the Lightning (36-17-4), who have lost three of four (1-1-2). Vasilevskiy made 17 saves.
"There were a lot of mistakes tonight, and they all wound up in the back of the net," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "I'm not disappointed with the effort. It's the mentality. I give the guys credit for coming back. It takes effort to come back like that."
Steven Stamkos gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead at 2:19 of the first period. He skated in on a rush and shot over Comrie's left shoulder from the right circle. Zemgus Girgensons tied it 1-1 at 11:41 when Dahlin's backdoor pass redirected five-hole off his skate.
Tage Thompson gave the Sabres a 2-1 lead at 9:36 of the second period, finishing a cross-ice pass from Skinner at the right post on a power play. He then made it 3-1 at 12:20 on a breakaway off a stretch pass from Skinner.
Victor Hedman responded 16 seconds later to cut it to 3-2, scoring with a slap shot from the left circle that went in off the near post.
Jack Quinn pushed it to 4-2 at 13:25 from the right hash marks. Point got the Lightning back to within 4-3 at 5:48 of the third period, beating Comrie five-hole with a backhand on a breakaway.
"If we want to play good hockey down the stretch, we've got to figure it out now," Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon said. "We got it back and got a point, but these teams are crawling for a playoff spot. We're going to get a hot Detroit team (on Saturday) and a Pittsburgh team that's desperate to win hockey games (on Sunday). It's playoff hockey down the stretch. We can't give up four breakaways."
Thompson completed the hat trick at 6:18 of the third period to put Buffalo ahead 5-3, slipping a backhand five-hole on Vasilevskiy on a breakaway.
Anthony Cirelli cut it to 5-4 at 8:33, pushing a loose puck in after Erik Cernak's backhand centering pass redirected behind Comrie off the stick of Dahlin. Ross Colton tied it 5-5 with a power-play goal at 14:54.
"I thought we pushed well in the third," Cirelli said. "We battled hard and got ourselves back in the game. I thought we showed some pretty good fight to come back and tie it up, but in the end, it wasn't good enough."
Ilya Lyubushkin won it for Buffalo while short-handed at 1:41 of overtime.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won five of their last 10 games.
The Detroit Red Wings won against the New York Rangers on Thursday, February 23 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with a score of 4-1. The Detroit Red Wings currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Andrew Copp had a goal and two assists, and Michael Rasmussen had a goal and an assist for the Red Wings (28-21-8), who have won seven of their past eight games to remain in the Eastern Conference wild card race.
"I think this game puts us above the cutline, which means a lot to us," Copp said. "I think we've found our recipe. We have been really strong defensively, our special teams are rolling, and this guy [goalie Ville Husso] has been pretty good."
David Perron, the third member of the line with Copp and Rasmussen, had two assists, and Husso made 30 saves in Detroit's first home game since Feb. 11.
"We went all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast and did a good job [on Tuesday] against [the] Washington [Capitals], and then we came back here," Husso said. "We didn't skate yesterday, we didn't have a morning skate today, and we came out ready to play."
The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead at 15:33 of the first period when Copp tipped in Rasmussen's pass from the edge of the crease. Vincent Trocheck tied it 1-1 at 6:06 of the second period, taking advantage of a Robert Hagg turnover to score from the slot.
Dylan Larkin stole the puck at the Rangers blue line and set up Filip Zadina to make it 2-1 at 8:18. Larkin has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past nine games.
"That was a huge goal because we had started to get our game back after the long trip, and all of a sudden we blow up and the puck is in our net," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "We needed that goal to get the momentum back and [Zadina] stepped up."
New York nearly tied it at 17:09, but Husso kicked out his left skate to rob Adam Fox.
"I saw him coming, so I just tried to move in that direction," Husso said. "It was a very lucky save."
Rasmussen then made it 3-1 at 18:02, tapping in Perron's pass after Halak's initial stop.
"When you get on a run like this, it is usually because everyone is contributing," Lalonde said. "We've been doing this with a top-six forward (Lucas Raymond) out, and that line has been a big part of it."
Filip Hronek scored a power-play goal at 4:51 of the third period for the 4-1 final.
The Detroit Red Wings have won seven of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Red Wings 4, Lightning 3
Betting trends
Lightning are 11-4 in the last 15 meetings in Detroit.
Lightning are 39-15 in the last 54 meetings overall.
Favorite is 40-17 in the last 57 meetings.
Projected lines
Lightning:
Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Nicholas Paul -- Pat Maroon
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev -- Erik Cernak
Ian Cole - Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Brandon Hagel -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos -- Alex Killorn
Ross Colton -- Nicholas Paul -- Pat Maroon
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare -- Corey Perry
Victor Hedman -- Zach Bogosian
Mikhail Sergachev -- Erik Cernak
Ian Cole - Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Red Wings:
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Dominik Kubalik
Michael Rasmussen -- Andrew Copp -- David Perron
Jakub Vrana -- Joe Veleno -- Robby Fabbri
Jonatan Berggren -- Pius Suter -- Oskar Sundqvist
Jake Walman -- Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot -- Filip Hronek
Olli Maatta -- Robert Hagg
Ville Husso
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Dominik Kubalik
Michael Rasmussen -- Andrew Copp -- David Perron
Jakub Vrana -- Joe Veleno -- Robby Fabbri
Jonatan Berggren -- Pius Suter -- Oskar Sundqvist
Jake Walman -- Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot -- Filip Hronek
Olli Maatta -- Robert Hagg
Ville Husso
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
