Nashville Predators at Tampa Bay Lightning odds, picks and prediction
The Nashville Predators (4-3-0) play the first half of two games in three days against the Tampa Bay Lightning (3-1-1) at Amalie Arena Saturday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Predators-Lightning NHL odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Predators at Lightning: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports' betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:10 a.m. ET.
- Money line : Predators +140 (bet $100 to win $140) | Lightning -165 (bet $165 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS : Predators +1.5 (-190) | Lightning -1.5 (+155)
- Over/Under : 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Predators at Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Juuse Saros (3-2-0, .918 SV%, 2.54 GAA) vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy (3-1-1, .932 SV%, 1.98 GAA)
After taking back-to-back losses against the Dallas Stars on the road, Saros and the Preds returned home for a two-game set against the Columbus Blue Jackets in which the 25-year-old stopped 71 of 74 shots faced. He has a .917 save percentage and 2.63 goals against average over 70 career road games.
Vasilevskiy is once again an early Vezina Trophy favorite. He has allowed more than 2 goals in just one of his five starts, but he has faced more than 27 shots just twice, as he's well-protected behind the defending Stanley Cup champs.
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Predators at Lightning: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Predators 3, Lightning 2
Money line (ML)
There's value on the PREDATORS (+140) in hopes of the road upset. They're ninth in the NHL with a 5-on-5 Corsi For percentage of 52.74, while the Lightning are 12th at 52.36%. Tampa Bay still has an edge in scoring chances and expected goals at 5-on-5, but look for Saros to stand up to the test in high-difficulty situations.
Nashville is just 2-for-28 on the power play (29th) with a power-play success rate of 7.14%. The Preds are also last in penalty-kill percentage, but they serve just 7.4 minutes in penalties per game. They've been playing well at full strength, and some special teams correction is on the way in Nashville.
Against the spread (ATS)
We can add PREDATORS +1.5 (-190) as a lesser, secondary play. After outscoring the lowly Chicago Blackhawks 10-3 in their first two games of the season, the Bolts have two losses and an overtime win in their last three games. Nashville went to extra time in each of its last two games against Chicago and can keep this close, barring penalty trouble.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the UNDER 6 (-120) in a battle of top netminders. The teams are a combined 4-7 against the Over/Under and both sides play to an average of 5.20 or fewer total goals per game.
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