The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators meet in NHL action from Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night. Can the Lightning go into the Music City and walk out with a win? Or will the Preds take down the Bolts at home? Let’s dive in, find out and give a Lightning vs. Predators Prediction.

Tampa Bay Lightning Team Preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this one looking to build on back-to-back wins after a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh last time out. Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 44 points including a team-high 17 goals and 27 assists while Brayden Point has 12 goals and 18 assists for his 30 points. Victor Hedman’s added 27 points with 22 assists while Steven Stamkos has 26 points with 16 assists and Brandon Hagel has 23 points split between 10 goals and 13 assists. Jonas Johansson has gone 8-5-5 with a 3.44 GAA and an .892 save percentage while Andrei Vasilevskiy is 3-3 with a 2.67 GAA and an .899 save percentage this season.

Tampa Bay Lightning Team Facts

The Lightning have lost five of their last six games as favorites on the second leg of a back-to-back.
The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in 14 of their last 15 games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
The home team has won the first period in each of the Lightning’s last seven games.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1’ market has hit in eight of the Lightning’s last nine games following a home win.

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Nashville Predators Team Preview

The Nashville Predators come into this game looking to build on back-to-back wins after a 4-3 shootout win over Chicago last time out. Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring with 29 points including a team-high 13 goals and 16 assists while Ryan O’Reilly has 22 points with 12 goals of his own and 10 assists. Gustav Nyquist has 17 points with 14 assists while Roman Josi has 18 points of his own with 13 assists. Juuse Saros has made 19 starts in goal for Nashville this season, going 10-10 with a 3.03 GAA and an .900 save percentage while Kevin Lankinen is 3-2 with a 3.04 GAA and a .902 save percentage this season.

Nashville Predators Team Facts

The Predators have won seven of their last eight games as home underdogs against opponents on a winning streak.
The home team has covered the puck line in each of the last six games between the Lightning and Predators.
The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 1′ market has hit in each of the Predators’ last 13 games as underdogs.
The home team has won the first period in each of the last six games between the Lightning and Predators.

Matchup/League Facts

The Nashville Predators ranks 27th in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (73.68%).
The Nashville Predators ranks 32nd in the league for Period 3 goals scored per game this season (0.64).
The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 2nd in the league in power play percentage this season (31.87%).
The Tampa Bay Lightning ranks 29th in the league for goals against per game this season (3.48).

Lightning vs. Predators Prediction

I’m on the Lightning here. I hate the Bolts as much as the next person, but I’ll admit they’re playing fairly well in their last couple of games and just when I was writing off Vasilevskiy for the time being, he goes and turns into vintage Vasilevskiy. The Predators are playing well right now and a lot of that’s come at home, but the Lightning are going to be a tough test regardless of where the game is played and I think Tampa Bay wins this one.