Wild vs. Lightning Recap: Carlson Scores Twice, Under 6.5 Cashes

The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 in regulation. Tampa Bay struck twice in 36 seconds early in the 1st, with Anthony Cirelli tipping one in at 5:26 and John Carlson scoring at 6:02. Quinn Hughes cut it to 2-1 at 2:32 of the 2nd, Carlson answered on the power play at 4:55, and Blake Coleman's power-play goal at 14:01 of the 2nd made it 3-2. Nobody scored in the 3rd. Shots finished 36 to 35 for Minnesota, with Dennis Hildeby making 34 saves for Tampa Bay and Jesper Wallstedt making 32 for Minnesota. Two DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Gage Goncalves under 0.5 points (-195 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Goncalves had no points in 3 games and averaged 0.45 points a game last season. At that rate the under on a single point was the side we liked at this price. - What happened: Goncalves finished with 0 goals, 0 assists and 0 shots on goal in 16:12, including 0:59 on the power play, and was a plus-1. He cleared the 0.5 line by the full half point while the Tampa Bay goals came from Cirelli and Carlson. - Worth watching: He saw a little power-play time but did not land a shot on goal. As long as his PP role stays small, his point unders are worth a look, with a hard pass past -200.

ALT: Under 6.5 total goals (alt): CASHED - Our read: Minnesota was allowing 1.67 goals a game behind Wallstedt and his .933 save percentage, and Tampa Bay was allowing 20.3 shots a game. Few goals allowed by Minnesota and few shots allowed by Tampa Bay pointed to the under at an alt number. - What happened: The game finished with 5 total goals, 1.5 under the line. All five came in the first 34:01 of the game, and the 3rd period was scoreless. Five goals also stayed under the main total of 5.5. - Worth watching: This one had plenty of shots, 71 combined, but both goalies held up, and Hildeby finished at .944. The alt price was the check: worth it at -160 or better, not past it.

How the game played out

Tampa Bay's fast start set the tone. The two quick goals in the 1st put Minnesota in chase mode, and the Wild got within one twice but never found the tying goal. Each team scored once on the power play: Tampa Bay on 3 chances and Minnesota on 2. Carlson's power-play goal in the 2nd stood as the winner. He finished with 2 goals on 9 shots on goal, and Nikita Kucherov assisted on both.

Trends to watch

• Hughes carried a huge load for Minnesota at 32:36, including 3:26 on the power play, and finished with 1 goal and 1 assist.
• Carlson's 9 shots on goal led everyone, and he logged 3:41 on the power play. Shot volume like that from the Tampa Bay point is worth tracking.
• Both goalies faced real workloads: Wallstedt saw 35 shots and Hildeby saw 36. Coleman tied for the Minnesota lead with 6 shots on goal and scored on the power play.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. For more, see our NHL hub, the NHL recaps page, and how a player prop works.