Welcome to another edition of NHL Predictions! If you are a resident of the United States, we wish you a happy Election Day! Today is a historic day in the United States, but it only happens every four years. However, in hockey, you never know what we say in any given game. The latest chapter in hockey history could be right around the corner. Today, we are taking a look at Tuesday’s game between the St. Louis Blues and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
NHL Predictions
St. Louis Blues vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Time: 8:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, FanDuel Sports Network Sun; ESPN+
The Blues and Lightning meet on Tuesday for the first time this season. The teams split the season series last year. The all-time series is currently led by the Blues, who are 30-18-3 against the Lightning. Furthermore, the Blues are 19-5 when hosting the Lightning, which is a good omen for the Blues heading into Tuesday.
Blues Looking For Two in a Row
The Blue Note walk into Tuesday with a 6-6-0 record. After a three-game skid, the team had an impressive win Saturday night. However, the injury bug continues to bite the Blues. Defenceman Philip Broberg, who was coming off a strong first month of the season, left the game with a lower-body injury.
The Blues are entering an important stretch of games, starting Tuesday. The team has seven games in 14 days, with quite a few coming against playoff teams from last year. With the injuries piling up, it seems like the Blues have a tall order ahead of them. This will be a good test of their determination. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how head coach Drew Bannister handles any adversity that emerges over the next two weeks.
Lightning is Striking Again
The Lightning lost Steven Stamkos in free agency this summer. In addition, they traded one of their best defenceman, Mikhail Sergachev. However, the team is showing no signs of backing down. Brayden Point has had a strong start to the season. The centre has scored eight goals in 12 games. Furthermore, by adding five assists to his totals, Point is a point-per-game player. In addition to Point, former Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov has been a point-per-game player, recording 20 points in 12 games.
If there is something the Lightning would like to see improve, it is the play of backup goaltender Jonas Johansson. The goaltender has only played in three games for the Bolts, but he has a goals against average of 4.51 and a save percentage of .866. The Bolts would like to see that improve. The injury history associated with Andrei Vasilevskiy is long enough to where the Lightning would feel comfortable knowing their backup is reliable.
Prediction for Blues vs. Lightning
Here is an interesting fact. In last season’s Blues and Bolts games, the home team outscored the road team 11-1. Is that a trend that will continue this season? Well, we are going to say yes for the first matchup.
Prediction: Blues win 5-0.
Prop Bets for Blues vs. Lightning
FanDuel is setting the over/under at 6.5 goals. It appears they agree with us that it will be a game with quite a few goals. However, we are taking the under since we are predicting a shutout.
A 5-0 Blues win is listed as +14000. If you are feeling lucky, go for it. If you want some safe bets, take Pavel Buchnevich as an anytime scorer for the Blues. Furthermore, if you believe the Lightning will light the lamp at least once, Kucherov is a safe bet.
Main photo by: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
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