The Nashville Predators and the Tampa Bay Lightning open the 2023-24 National Hockey League regular season Tuesday at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET (ESPN/ESPN+). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Predators vs. Lightning odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Predators figure to be a little more higher scoring under new coach Andrew Brunette, as opposed to previous regimes which had a more defensive-first approach. The team added C Ryan O’Reilly in the offseason, as well as D Luke Schenn.
The Lightning will be without G Andrei Vasilevskiy until perhaps around Thanksgiving (in the U.S., not Canada). He is recovering from back surgery, so Tampa Bay will have a different look in the 1st 6-8 weeks of the season.
Tampa Bay swept the regular-season series in 2022-23, and it has won 4 straight meetings in the series, all as a favorite, although it is just 2-2 on the puck line in that span. The Over-Under has alternated in the past 6 meetings. The Over is 3-1 in the past 4 battles in Tampa.