Predators vs Lightning Odds, Picks, and Predictions Tonight: Lightning Strikes More Than Twice

The Tampa Bay Lightning welcome the Nashville Predators to Amalie Arena tonight for the first game of the NHL season, with both clubs looking to rebound from disappointing 2022-23 campaigns.

Tampa Bay begins the season without star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and will look to shut down a Nashville team that ranked 28th in goals per game last year (2.72 GPG).

Will the hosts shut the door or will a revamped Preds squad spoil the Lightning’s home opener? Find out in our Predators vs Lightning NHL picks and predictions for Tuesday, October 10. Also, keep up to date with the latest NHL odds as we get closer to puck drop.

Predators vs Lightning odds

Predators vs Lightning predictions

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into the 2023-24 season looking to bounce back from a First Round playoff exit against the Toronto Maple Leafs — Tampa Bay’s earliest postseason defeat since 2018-19. The team’s longtime core of Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Victor Hedman may be getting up there in age, but they still have plenty of gas left in the tank and should be poised for another solid season.

Kucherov was especially impressive last season, posting 113 points to record the second-highest total of his career while finishing tied for third in points and second in assists among all skaters. The winger also enjoyed success against the Nashville Predators in limited action, recording four points across two meetings, including a three-point performance in their first battle of the season.

Nashville did revamp its lineup in the offseason, but those moves will mostly impact the offensive side of things. The Preds bought Matt Duchene out, replacing him with Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist, while their only notable move on the blueline was adding depth defenseman Luke Schenn.

The Predators were solid defensively last season, ranking 12th in goals against per game (2.88 GAPG), but I don’t see them containing the always-dangerous Lightning. Look for Kucherov to lead the offense and get his campaign started with a multi-point outing tonight.

My best bet: Nikita Kucherov Over 1.5 points (-110 at Sports Interaction)

Predators vs Lightning same-game parlay

Brayden Point to score a goal

Filip Forsberg to score a goal

Lightning moneyline

+650 at SIA

For tonight’s same-game parlay, we’ll look for Brayden Point and Filip Forsberg to find the back of the net for their respective clubs while rounding it out with a Lightning win.

Point had the best goal-scoring campaign of his career in 2022-23, scoring 51 goals to finish fifth among all skaters. The Lightning star scored twice against the Preds in two meetings last year and should have a good shot at scoring at least once tonight.

Forsberg had a bit of a down year for Nashville with just 19 goals and 42 points in 50 games as he missed time with a head injury. The sniper comes into this season in good health and put up 42 goals in just 69 games two years ago, so I like him to bounce back with a tally in tonight’s season opener.

Lastly, we’ll take the hosts on the moneyline as the safe bet to round out the same-game parlay. Tampa Bay has owned Nashville in head-to-head meetings in recent years and makes sense as the favorite tonight against a club that missed the playoffs last season.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Predators vs Lightning moneyline and Over/Under analysis

The Lightning come into their season opener as the home favorite, opening at -154 on the moneyline, and I don’t see any reason to side with the underdogs in this one.

It remains to be seen just how much Andrei Vasilevskiy's absence will affect Tampa Bay’s defense, but I think for now it’s wise to give the benefit of the doubt to the club that’s lifted two Stanley Cups in the past four years. As usual, the Lightning did some tinkering around the edges by trading Ross Colton and Corey Perry, but the elite core remains in place.

In addition to Kucherov and his impressive 113-point season, Tampa Bay also boasts plenty of other talent like Point (95 points), Stamkos (84 points), and blueline stalwarts Hedman (49 points) and Mikhail Sergachev (64 points).

Nashville’s top scorer last season was defenseman Roman Josi, who finished with just 59 points while Duchene (56 points) was bought out due to his pricy contract. Forsberg  — assuming health — is due for a rebound, but I don’t see the Preds having the firepower to keep up with the Lightning.

Tonight’s total opened at 6.5 goals and I like the Over in this season-opening battle.

We tend to see a bit of sloppiness on the defensive side of the puck early in the season as teams get back in the rhythm and relearn their systems, generally leading to higher-scoring games. We also saw an uptick in scoring in general last year with contests averaging 6.36 goals per game — the highest total since 1993-94 — which inspires confidence as well.

The Lightning were a Top-10 offensive club last season with 3.41 GPG but were even better on home ice, finishing the year as the NHL’s highest-scoring home team with 4.00 GPG at Amalie Arena. 

Tampa Bay averaged 4.00 GPG across two meetings with Nashville last season but the Predators should also be able to put a few pucks in the net tonight against Lightning goaltender Jonas Johansson. 

The 28-year-old was acquired from Colorado Avalanche in the offseason but has just 35 games of NHL experience under his belt and a career .887 save percentage while appearing in only three contests last year. The Lightning spoke highly of Johansson throughout the preseason but he looks like the weak link until proven otherwise.

Predators vs Lightning betting trend to know

Tampa Bay is 11-2 in the last 13 meetings with Nashville. Find more NHL betting trends for Predators vs. Lightning.

Predators vs Lightning game info

Predators vs Lightning latest injuries

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