Tampa Bay is home but finished only four points ahead of Detroit in the Atlantic division. Tampa Bay is also banged up, with star Steven Stamkos (blood clots) out along with talented defenseman Anton Stralman, plus Ryan Callahan is day-to-day. Detroit is a strong defensive team and the offense has two or more goals in 17 straight games, including a stretch scoring three in five straight. The defense has held Tampa Bay to three total goals the last two contests. Detroit has also outshot Tampa Bay in every game in the series (33-28, 30-16, 32-31 and 36-34), so back the very live dog and play on Detroit.
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