The Arizona Coyotes will travel to Tampa, Florida to face the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Amalie Arena with the game scheduled to start at 7:00 PM ET on Thursday evening.

The Coyotes are in 6^th place in the Central Division with a record of 23-20-3 and 49 points which also puts them in 9^th place in the Western Conference following a 2-6 blowout loss on the road against the Florida Panthers on Wednesday which also ended their two-game winning streak. Arizona has been one of the better teams defensively in the NHL this season as they are allowing the 11^th fewest goals per game with an average of 2.93 goals allowed per game, however, they have a below-average penalty-kill percentage at 79.59% which ranks 20^th in the league. 

The Coyotes have been slightly below-average offensively as they rank 19^th in goals per game, however, they are a top 10 team in power-play success rate with a power-play success rate of 23.02% and an average of 3.04 goals per game. Clayton Keller has been one of the better players on the team as he leads the team in goals and points with 19 goals and 42 points. The Arizona Coyotes will look to bounce back following the loss on the road against the Panthers when they travel to face the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are not as dominant as we are used to seeing over the previous few seasons, however, they are still an above-average team in the Eastern Conference with a record of 25-18-5 and 55 points which puts them in 4^th place in the Atlantic Division and gives them the 7^th best record in the Eastern Conference. The Lightning have been one of the better teams offensively in the league this season as they rank 11^th in goals per game and have the best power-play success rate with an average of 3.34 goals per game and a power-play success rate of 29.93%. 

However, they have been a below-average team defensively as they rank 23^rd in goals allowed per game with an average of 3.3 goals allowed per game. Nikita Kucherov has been one of the best players in the NHL this season and leads the team in goals, assists, and points with 31 goals, 49 assists, and 80 points with the goals being the 3^rd most, the assists being the 2^nd most, and the points being the most in the NHL this season. The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to build off the momentum following the win on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday when they host the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday evening.

BookMaker has the Tampa Bay Lightning listed as -205 moneyline favorites at home against the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday evening. Tampa Bay is 5-4-1 in the last ten while Arizona has won two of the previous three meetings. The Coyotes have outscored the Lightning by an average of .2 goals per game over the last ten and have won by an average margin of .33 goals per game over the last three games in the series.

Tampa Bay is the better team this season, however, Arizona has been the better team most recently in the series, winning two of the last three matchups. The Coyotes have outscored the Lightning by an average of 3 to 2.8 goals per game over the last ten and have won by an average margin of .33 goals per game over the last three games in the series. Take the puck line with the Arizona Coyotes at +1.5 when they travel to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday evening.