{"id":475914,"date":"2025-10-13T06:25:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T10:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=475914"},"modified":"2025-10-13T11:04:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T15:04:30","slug":"nhl-predictions-tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/10\/13\/nhl-predictions-tampa-bay-lightning-boston-bruins\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: October 13th, Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">Welcome back to another <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/10\/11\/nhl-predictions-october-11-lightning-vs-devils\" target=\"_self\">NHL Predictions<\/a>. Each day, our writers here at <em>Last Word on Hockey<\/em> look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Tampa Bay Lightning taking on the Boston Bruins. Don\u2019t forget to check out more NHL Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n<h3>NHL Predictions with Lightning at Bruins<\/h3>\n<p>2024-25 Regular Season Series tied 2 &#8211; 2<\/p>\n<p>Time: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/full-guide-for-how-to-stream-and-watch-nhl-hockey-games\/\" target=\"_self\">How to watch<\/a> TV: The Spot, NHLN, TVAS, NESN<\/p>\n<p>Location: TD Garden from Boston, Massachusetts<\/p>\n<h3><b>Tampa Bay Lightning Outlook<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">The Bolts are trying to shake off a rough start. Their offence still gleams with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/04\/17\/nikita-kucherov-has-joined-mcdavid-in-club-with-100-assists-in-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Nikita Kucherov<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pointbr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-13_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brayden Point<\/a>, and company, who can light up any scoreboard, but their 0-2 start makes it look like they can&#8217;t pay their electric bill so far. It&#8217;s not the Offence. Seven goals in the first two games is pretty. Giving up ten goals is pretty, too. Pretty ugly. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/pointbr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Brayden Point<\/a> has four, well, &#8220;<em>points<\/em>&#8221; so far. He also has six penalty minutes. Defence and goaltending need to step up. Defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/martiem01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-13_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Emil Martinsen Lilleberg<\/a> can&#8217;t be taking undisciplined penalties. They need to stop surrendering odd-man rushes and soft goals. Tampa can\u2019t afford sloppy pivot passes or turnovers in their own zone.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/v\/vasilan02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a> will be a litmus test. If he\u2019s sharp, he can steal this game. If he\u2019s not, a poorly executed steal leads to jail time. Jail cells that have benches where ineffective starters sit on. Expect Boston to pepper him with everything short of pucks disguised as flamingos (though one never knows in Florida hockey).<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>NHL Predictions Key to Victory:<\/b><b><\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Survive Boston\u2019s top line. Pastr\u0148ak, (four points), \u00a0Zacha (three points), and Lindholm (four points) will be cooking. Don&#8217;t let them eat.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Fast, sharp transitions. If Tampa can turn defence into offence before Boston settles, that\u2019s where they\u2019ll strike.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Disciplined at home. No bonus power plays to Boston. That\u2019d be foolish.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Boston Bruins Outlook<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">Boston\u2019s looking confident. They\u2019ve started the season strong at 3-0. Their system is clicking and they lean on structure, two\u2011way play, and opportunistic offence. Under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sturmma01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Marco Sturm<\/a>, they\u2019re trying to be unloveable, tough, efficient, but effective.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/swaymje01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-12_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jeremy Swayman<\/a> (two wins) (or Korpisalo (one win), depending on the pitcher\u2019s duel) have been solid. If Boston\u2019s netminders can frustrate Tampa\u2019s shooters early, the mental\/physical fatigue could set in quick coming off Tampa&#8217;s 0-2 start.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><b>Key to Victory:<\/b><b><\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Grind the neutral zone. Make every breakout a negotiation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Traffic in front. Don\u2019t let <em>Vasy<\/em> roam free, especially on power plays. Boston&#8217;s two PPs on the season need to increase against the Bolts.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\">Capitalize on mistakes. Tampa has a penalty kill of 87.5%, which is 11<span class=\"v-sup\">th in the league. So, when they make them. t<\/span>he Bruins must pounce.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>NHL Predictions: Who Edges It?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">This feels like the kind of game that\u2019s tight for two periods and explodes late. Boston has home ice, structure, and momentum. Tampa has firepower and desperation. Our gut says Boston ekes this one out, but we wouldn\u2019t be shocked if the Lightning come back late.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>Bruins 3, Lightning 2 (OT)<\/b><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Expect a bruising, tense, low\u2011scoring night. Maybe a scrappy third period. Maybe even an empty net heart\u2011attack. But lean Boston.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Prop Bets of the Night<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>David Pastr\u0148ak Over 0.5 Points<\/b><\/span> \u2014 Always dangerous, especially vs. Tampa\u2019s defensive gaps.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/v\/vasilan02.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-10-13_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a> Over 28.5 Saves<\/b><span class=\"s1\"> \u2014 Boston will fire pucks.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Total Goals Over 5.5<\/b><\/span> \u2014 Expect a burst late.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Final Thoughts<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p3\">The Bruins are built for this kind of game: tough, structured, willing to grind. Tampa can\u2019t just rely on flash; they need grit, execution, and a good night from <em>Vasy<\/em>. If those align, Lightning might pick up their first win. If not Jon Cooper may be picking up his bags earlier than expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Either way, expect intensity, maybe a fight (or seven), and at least one goal you\u2019ll trash-talk with your buddies tomorrow. Let\u2019s see if Tampa puts in the spark they\u2019re promising, or if Boston\u2019s system snuffs them out.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Please play responsibly. Check for your local rules and age restrictions. Some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Have a gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Brian Fluharty &#8211; USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome back to another NHL Predictions. Each day, our writers here at Last Word on Hockey look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at the Tampa Bay Lightning [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5453,"featured_media":437461,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[6081,6391],"class_list":["post-475914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lightning","category-bruins","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-boston-bruins-predictions","tag-tampa-bay-lightning-predictions"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475914"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475914\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":475983,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475914\/revisions\/475983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/437461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}