The Vegas Golden Knights and the Tampa Bay Lightning meet Thursday night in NHL action from the Amalie Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Tampa Bay Lightning vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction.
Vegas Golden Knights Recap
The Vegas Golden Knights come into this game looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season after ending up with a 4-2 loss at the hands of Washington last time out. After this game, the Golden Knights will remain in the Sunshine State for a matchup with the Panthers.
Golden Knights Looking To Snag First Road Win
Mark Stone and Jack Eichel share the team lead with 8 points apiece, with both logging a team-high 6 assists while Ivan Barbashev has 7 points with a team-high 3 goals and 4 assists. Shea Theodore has 5 points with 4 assists of his own while Victor Olofsson has 3 goals and Tomas Hertl has a goal and 3 assists and Alex Pietrangelo has 3 assists as well. Brett Howden has a pair of goals and Keegan Kolesar has a pair of assists as well this season. Adin Hill has gone 2-1 with a 3.72 GAA and an .855 save percentage in goal for Vegas while Ilya Samsonov has gone 1-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .957 save percentage this season.
Why the Vegas Golden Knights will win
- The underdogs have won six of the last seven games between the Golden Knights and Lightning.
- The Lightning have lost four of their last six games as favorites.
- The Golden Knights have covered the puck line in each of their last 11 Thursday games as road underdogs.
- The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last three night games following a home win.
Tampa Bay Lightning Recap
The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this one looking to build on back-to-back wins to start the year after a 4-1 win over Vancouver last time out. After this game, the Lightning will head back out on the road to start a road trip with a game against Ottawa.
Lightning Looking To Keep Unbeaten Start Going
Nikita Kucherov leads the Lightning in scoring with 5 points including a team-high 4 goals while Brayden Point has a pair of goals and an assist. Victor Hedman, Jake Guentzel, and Nicholas Paul each have 3 assists while Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel each have 2 points with a goal and an assist. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 2-0 with a 1.00 GAA and a .958 save percentage in goal for the Lightning this season.
Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win
- The home team has won each of the Golden Knights’ last seven games.
- The Golden Knights have lost six of their last seven road games against Atlantic Division opponents.
- The Lightning have covered the puck line in four of their last five games against Pacific Division opponents.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Vegas Golden Knights Prediction
I’m on the Lightning here. This is going to be a great game, but I like what I’ve seen from Tampa out of the gate, and Vasilevskiy has looked sharp. Vegas has taken advantage of some solid offensive showings, but I’m a bit concerned about the goaltending still early on, and I think Tampa Bay can take advantage. Give me the Bolts.