Time: 7:30 PM EDT Venue: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL, 33602 / TAMPA, Fla. -- The Arizona Coyotes look to continue their late-season surge and play the role of spoiler when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. Arizona has moved up the standings in the past month after starting the season on an 11-game winless stretch. The Coyotes enter Monday on a 16-12-6 roll since January and are 13-8-2 in the past 22 games despite a loss to the Florida Panthers on Saturday as the Coyotes allowed four consecutive goals in a 4-2 loss." We looked fast and then some guys got a little tired and we got a little sluggish with our details," Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet told NHL.com. "They've got some high-end players and they started to make a push in the third and we just couldn't make that play." The Lightning are at the opposite end of the spectrum, having been at the top of the league standings since October and look to get in to more of a playoff-type mode as they play out the stretch looking to hold off the Boston Bruins for the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Tampa Bay is 12-3-1 in the past 16 games, but concerns about its play in the defensive zone have come to the surface as the Lightning have allowed three or more goals 11 times during the 16-game stretch, including six or more three times. Coming off a 2-1 loss at New Jersey might be the type of mentality the Lightning need to get geared up for playoff-style hockey." It was a good, hard-fought game. Both teams battled playoff style," Lightning forward J. T. Miller said. "I thought we had a lot of looks. In the third, they just kind of packed in. We had some good zone time, but we just didn't get enough out of our looks." Tampa Bay returns home looking to tie for the most points in franchise history and Jon Cooper looks to pass John Tortorella for the most wins as a head coach in team history." John Tortorella, you look at the coaches that have been around the last 10-15 years, he's been a really good one," Cooper said. "I know I spent a lot of time with that 2004 (Stanley Cup-winning Lightning) team and they talk about Torts in extremely high regard." I've been fortunate to meet him a few times and know what he meant to our organization and the time he spent here, and he laid a groundwork for guys like me to come in and follow suit. If my name is up beside John Tortorella's, I feel like that's an honor."
Looking for More Picks?
You can browse all the individual handicapper picks below.
Arizona Coyotes
Tampa Bay Lightning
Pick Center
NHL
FINAL (3/26/2018)
LiveSportsTradingDude
