Two teams facing each other for the first time this season, the Nashville Predators and the Tampa Bay Lightning take the ice at Amalie Arena. This East-West matchup gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 26, and it is being shown live on Fox Sports Sun.
Nashville Predators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Nashville is 6-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.0 unit for moneyline bettors this year. Eight of its matches have gone over the total, while two have gone under and none have pushed. As an away team in 2019-20, the Preds are 1-2 SU.
Nashville has scored on 19.4 percent of its power play chances thus far. That’s a good improvement from last year, when it was ranked 31st in the NHL by converting on 12.6 percent of its extra-man chances. Its penalty kill has fallen off drastically since last year, however, as the team has gone from successfully defending 82.1 percent of all opponent power plays (ranked sixth overall last year) to 71.0 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Nashville has been penalized 3.5 times per game in the 2019-20 season, a number that’s pretty close to last year’s 3.7 penalties per game. After serving an average of 8.3 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays for 7.9 minutes per matchup this year.
Averaging 27.0 saves per game with a .931 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (6-1-1) has been the primary option in goal for Nashville this year. If it decides to rest him, however, head coach Peter Laviolette may roll with Juuse Saros (0-3 record, .853 save percentage, 4.74 goals against average).
The visiting Predators will be led by Ryan Ellis and Matt Duchene. Ellis (12 points) has tallied one goal and 11 assists, and has recorded two or more points in five different games. Duchene has two goals and nine assists to his name (and has notched at least one point in seven games).
On the other side of the ice, Tampa Bay is 5-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 2.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through nine regular season contests, six of its games have gone over the total, while three have gone under and none have pushed. Thus far, the team is 2-1 SU as the home team.
Tampa Bay has killed off a remarkable 71.0 percent of all penalties, a few points off from the 83.8 percent the team recorded a year ago (when it was ranked fifth overall). It’s converted on 22.2 percent of its power plays this year after scoring on 28.1 percent (ranked first in league) last season.
Tampa Bay players have been whistled for penalties 4.2 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.0, the second-highest mark in the league. After serving an average of 9.7 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to kill penalties for 10.0 minutes per outing this season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (29.4 saves per game) has been the top choice in the crease for Tampa Bay. Vasilevskiy has five wins and two losses to his credit and has maintained a poor .907 save percentage and 2.99 goals against average this season.
Steven Stamkos (four goals, six assists) will lead the offensive counter for Tampa.
Nashville Predators at Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The total has gone under in three of Tampa Bay’s last five games.
- Nashville has managed 32.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Tampa Bay is averaging 41.3 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Penalties and power plays may prove to be critical in tonight’s game. The Predators are 3-2 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 4-3 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Lightning are 2-0 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 3-1 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
