Predators vs Lightning Prediction, Odds & Picks: Bolts Strike Victory at Home

The 2023-24 NHL season finally begins on Tuesday, featuring three exciting opening-day matchups. One of tonight’s showdowns pits the Nashville Predators head-to-head against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena for a 5:30 p.m. ET clash.

The Predators just missed out on the playoffs last season after going 42-32-8 — good for fifth place in the Central Division. Meanwhile, a 46-30-6 record saw the Lightning make the playoffs for the sixth straight season, however, they suffered a first-round elimination by losing to the Toronto Maple Leafs in six games.

Can Nashville pull off a huge upset to open the new campaign? Or will Tampa Bay prove that it isn’t in danger of falling off just yet?

This article has everything covered when it comes to your Predators vs. Lightning betting needs, ranging from the latest NHL odds to the best bets you can make tonight.

Predators vs Lightning Tonight (Oct. 10)

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Nashville Predators (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Away) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Home)
• Venue & Location: Amalie Arena (Tampa, Florida)
• Date: Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023
• Game Time: 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time
• Predators vs. Lightning TV Info: ESPN, ESPN+

Predators vs. Lightning Odds

Game odds courtesy of BetOnline as of Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 8:22 a.m. ET. Odds from other top online sportsbooks may also be mentioned in this article.

Spread

• Nashville Predators +1.5 (-177)
• Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 (+157)

Over/Under

• Over 6.5 Goals (+100)
• Under 6.5 Goals (-116)

Moneyline

• Nashville Predators +137
• Tampa Bay Lightning -154

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Predators vs Lightning Betting Trends

• Nashville is 1-6 straight up in its last seven games played in October.
• Tampa Bay is 2-4 straight up in its last six games against the Western Conference.
• The total has hit the Under in four of Nashville’s last five road games.
• The total has hit the Under in five of Tampa Bay’s last six games against the Central Division.
• The total has hit the Over in five of the last six Nashville-Tampa Bay matchups at Amalie Arena.

Predators vs Lightning Game Preview

There’s nothing like an inter-conference clash to begin a new NHL season.

It’s the first time the Predators and Lightning are facing off in nearly a year. They collided twice towards the end of 2022, resulting in two victories for Tampa Bay as it outscored Nashville 8-4 on aggregate.

A lack of success is nothing new for the Predators when it comes to playing the Bolts, though. Nashville is an abysmal 2-9-2 in its last 13 games against Tampa Bay dating back to the 2019-20 season.

The Predators have lost four straight games to the Lighting, getting outscored 17-8 along the way. If that isn’t bad enough, Nashville is only 1-5-0 in its last six trips to Amalie Arena, allowing 4.5 goals per game during that span.

The Predators will also struggle to win tonight if their power play unit isn’t better than it was last year. While they impressed with the sixth-best penalty kill percentage (82.6%), the Preds were underwhelming when they were on the man advantage, only converting on 17.6% of attempts (6th-worst).

On the flip side, the Lightning finished last year with a 25.4% success rate on the power play (3rd-best) and were fairly average when it came to the penalty kill (79.7%, 15th-best).

Tampa Bay is also boosted by the fact that it had its longest offseason in years. Three straight trips to the Stanley Cup Finals left the Lightning with the shortest time between seasons over the last few years. A full-length offseason could be exactly what they needed to help return to the top of the NHL.

With more talent from top to bottom as well, the Lightning are in a better spot to win.

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Predators vs Lightning Prediction

The Predators are a solid team and could make some noise this year, but the Lightning are much more dangerous now that they’ve had a full offseason to reset. The special teams advantage will only paint the Bolts as an even bigger threat.

With Tampa Bay dominating Nashville at Amalie Arena in recent years, I expect the home team to open the 2023-24 NHL season with a victory.

Prediction: Lightning 4, Predators 2

Bet: Lightning ML (-154 on BetOnline)

Predators vs Lightning Player Prop

If you’re looking for a Predators vs. Lightning player prop, consider taking the Over on Nikita Kucherov’s 3.5-shot total.

For starters, Kucherov averaged the Over on this prop last year, putting up 3.3 shots per game. Furthermore, he finished with more than 3.5 shots in four of his last eight games, averaging 4.3 SOG during that stretch.

Averaging 3.4 shots in his last five games against the Predators, look for Kucherov to generate even more offense tonight.

Bet: Nikita Kucherov Over 3.5 Shots on Goal (+100 on BetOnline)

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