The Minnesota Wild and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Thursday in NHL action from the Benchmark International Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Minnesota Wild vs. Tampa Bay Lightning prediction.
Minnesota Wild Recap
The Minnesota Wild come into this game looking to rebound from their 3-2 OT loss a the hands of Buffalo last time out to sit at 2-0-1 this season. After this game, the Wild will head on the road for a game against the Florida Panthers.
Wild Suffer First L Of Season
Quinn Hughes leads the Minnesota Wild through three games this season with a team-high 4 points and 3 assists while adding a goal. Jared Spurgeon, Michael McCarron, and Kirill Kaprizov sit right behind him with 3 points apiece, with Kaprizov pacing the squad with 3 goals while McCarron matches Hughes with 3 assists. Maxim Shabanov, Danila Yurov, Bobby Brink, and Blake Coleman have each recorded 2 points, while Joel Eriksson Ek, Nick Foligno, Ryan Hartman, and Olli Maatta have each added 1 point to round out Minnesota’s scoring. In net, Jesper Wallstedt has carried the workload with a 2-0-1 record, posting a stellar 1.63 GAA and a .933 save percentage after stopping 70 of 75 shots for the Wild up to this point in the season.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to build on their 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers last time out to sit at 2-1 this season. After this game, the Lightning will head on the road for a game against the New York Islanders.
Lightning Win Back-To-Back Games
Nikita Kucherov leads the Tampa Bay Lightning through three games this season with a team-high 4 points and 3 assists while adding a goal. Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel, and Ilya Mikheyev sit right behind him with 3 points apiece, each posting a goal and 2 assists. John Carlson, Brayden Point, and Pontus Holmberg have each recorded 2 points, while Zemgus Girgensons, Conor Geekie, and Charle-Edouard D’Astous have each added a point to round out Tampa Bay’s scoring. In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy has handled all three starts with a 2-1-0 record, posting a 2.05 GAA and an .898 save percentage after stopping 53 of 59 shots for the Lightning up to this point in the season.
Minnesota Wild @ Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends: October 8, 2026
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The Lightning have won each of their last seven home games against Central Division opponents.
- The Wild have lost four of their last five road games.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in five of their last six home games against Central Division opponents.
- The Wild have failed to cover the puck line in five of their last six road games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Lightning have won the third period in each of their last seven games against Western Conference opponents when leading after the second period.
Why the Minnesota Wild will win
- The Wild have won seven of their last eight games as underdogs after coming off overtime.
- The Lightning have lost four of their last five games as favorites following a win.
- The Wild have covered the puck line in each of their last nine Thursday games as underdogs.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in 14 of their last 16 games.
- The underdogs have won the first period in each of the last four games between the Wild and Lightning.
Total Goals Facts
- Each of the Lightning’s last seven games as favorites following a home win have gone UNDER the total goals line.
- Nine of the Wild’s last 10 road games after coming off overtime have gone OVER the total goals line.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3’ market has hit in each of the Wild’s last 15 games as road underdogs.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2’ market has hit in each of the Lightning’s last nine games as favorites against the Wild.
Tampa Bay Lightning Player Prop Facts
- Nikita Kucherov has recorded at least one assist in 10 of his last 11 home appearances against Central Division opponents.
- Brandon Hagel has recorded at least three shots in each of his last seven appearances – equal-longest active streak in the league.
Minnesota Wild Player Prop Facts
- Kirill Kaprizov has scored the last goal in three of the Wild’s last four games against the Lightning.
- Joel Eriksson Ek has scored a goal in five of the Wild’s last six road games against the Lightning.
- Quinn Hughes has recorded at least one assist in each of his last eight appearances with his team as a road underdog against Atlantic Division opponents.
- Ryan Hartman has recorded a career faceoff win percentage of 55.3% against the Lightning (min. 5 faceoffs) – most against any opponent (including playoffs).
Matchup/League Facts
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank T28th in the league in power play percentage this season (0.00%).
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank T6th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.33).
- The Minnesota Wild rank T1st in the league in penalty kill percentage this season (100.00%).
- The Minnesota Wild rank 2nd in the league for goals against per game this season (1.67).
Minnesota Wild vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction
I’m on the under in this one. I think we have a bit of a goaltending battle in this game, as these have been two teams that have been sharp defensively out of the gate so far this season. Wallstedt’s proven to be a quality option between the pipes for Minnesota and Vasilevskiy is already in peak early season form and I think this is a first to 3 wins kind of game. Give me the under here.