The NHL betting board for Tuesday is headlined by a matchup between the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning and the Nashville Predators.
The Lightning are again looking like Cup contenders and are fresh off a win against the Preds last night. Tampa Bay is expected to win again today with NHL odds opening with the Bolts as -160 road favorites.
Here are our best free Lightning vs. Predators picks and predictions for Tuesday, January 9, with the puck dropping at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Nashville Predators Betting Preview
Injuries
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov RW (Out), Mitchell Stephens C (Out).
Predators: Mattias Ekholm D (Questionable), Ryan Johansen C (Out), Luca Sbisa D (Out), Brad Richardson RW (Out), Luke Kunin C (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting Trend to Know
The Under is 7-3-1 in Tampa Bay's last 11 games playing on 0 days rest. Find more NHL betting trends for Lightning vs. Predators.
NHL Sharp Money and Line Movement Report
By Patrick EversonTampa Bay opened -168 on the FanDuel moneyline Monday night, bottomed out at -158 several times overnight into this morning, peaked at -178 late this morning and is at -174 at 4:30 p.m. ET. The Lightning are landing 92 percent of tickets and 93 percent of cash on the moneyline. The total opened at 5.5 (Over -130), with the Over price peaking hitting a low point of -110 and now sitting at -120. Ticket count and money are running 2/1 on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameMoneyline Pick
The Lightning took care of business with their fifth consecutive victory last night, winning 4-1 with backup Curtis McElhinney between the pipes. That was a much-needed day off for Tampa Bay's No. 1 netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is 7-1-1 with a 1.88 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage across nine starts.
Thanks in large part to Vasilevskiy, the Lightning have allowed the fewest goals in the league with just 1.90 goals against per game. They are also very effective on offense, ranking fourth in the league with 3.6 goals per game.
Last night's loss was the Predators' second-straight defeat, dropping their season record to 5-7. Nashville has been poor on both offense and defense, ranking 23rd in goals allowed with 3.33 per game, and 27th in scoring with 2.42 gpg.
To be fair, those season averages are a bit skewed by three games against the Lightning, with the Bolts winning all three by a total score of 13-6.
While that might be something to consider when betting on the Preds against other teams in the league, it certainly doesn't bode well for their chances of winning tonight. Expect the Lightning to win in regulation and back them on the three-way moneyline.
PREDICTION: Three-Way moneyline Tampa Bay (-110)
Over/Under Pick
McElhinney wasn't the only backup in nets last night, with Pekka Rinne getting the nod for Nashville. Juuse Saros is projected to be back in nets tonight and he is 3-3 with a 3.31 GAA and an .893 SV%.
That said, Nashville has a strong defense in front of him and we could see some tired legs from both teams today as they are playing on the tail end of a back-to-back.
The Lightning have yet to play on consecutive days this season but are 7-3-1 to the Under in their last 11 games played on 0 days of rest going back to last season, while the Preds have cashed the Under in four straight games without a rest day—and in two such situations this year scored just a single goal in each contest.
With Vasilevskiy's dominant play between the pipes and Nashville's issues with putting the puck in the net, back the Under.
PREDICTION: Under 5.5 (-105)
Lightning vs Predators Betting Card
- Three-Way moneyline Tampa Bay (-110)
- Under 5.5 (-105)
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