The NHL continues its forays into the outdoors on Saturday when the Nashville Predators host the Tampa Bay Lightning in a 2022 NHL Stadium Series matchup. It is the second of three outdoor regular-season games this season, and it will be the first game for the Lightning out in the elements. The matchup at Nissan Stadium is Nashville's first opportunity to host, but it faced Dallas in the 2020 Winter Classic, losing 4-2 at the Cotton Bowl. The 2022 Winter Classic was on New Year's Day in Minneapolis, with the Blues defeating Minnesota 6-4 in a game that started with temperature at minus-6 degrees. The 2022 Heritage Classic will conclude up the season's outdoor series on March 13 in Hamilton, Ontario, where Toronto will face Buffalo.
Opening face-off in Nashville is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook lists Tampa Bay as the -175 favorite (risk $175 to win $100) in the latest Lightning vs. Predators odds, and the over-under for total goals scored is six. Before making any Predators vs. Lightning picks, check out the 2022 NHL Stadium Series predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every NHL game 10,000 times. The proprietary computer model enters Week 20 a profitable 102-82 on all top-rated NHL picks this season, with a strong 82-61 record on top-rated NHL money-line picks, returning almost $800 for $100 players. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Lightning vs. Predators in this Stadium Series 2022 matchup. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the latest NHL odds from and trends for Predators vs. Lightning:
- Lightning vs. Predators money line: Tampa Bay -175, Nashville +150
- Lightning vs. Predators puck line: Tampa Bay -1.5 (+145)
- Lightning vs. Predators over-under: 6 goals
- TB: Steven Stamkos has 142 goals the past five seasons (304 games).
- NASH: Filip Forsberg has 22 even-strength goals, tied for third in the NHL.
Why you should back the Lightning
The three-time Stanley Cup champs are just three points behind Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference leader Florida and have won three straight. They beat the Oilers 5-3 on Wednesday night, with captain Steven Stamkos scoring his team-best 24th goal. Brayden Point got his 19th of the season, and Alex Killorn (28 assists) and Ondrej Palat (33 points) are constant menaces for defenders. Veteran Corey Perry scored his 400th career goal in the win against Edmonton.
Stamkos has four goals in the past three games, and Perry has two goals and three assists during a three-game points streak. The Tampa Bay defenders also play a big role on the offensive end, with Victor Hedman getting a point per game, with 11 goals and 39 assists, and Mikhail Sergachev setting up 24 goals. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy hasn't been as dominant this season but is seventh in the NHL in both goals-against average (2.29) and saves (1,049).
Why you should back the Predators
Nashville beat the Stars in a shootout on Thursday night for its second straight win. The Predators have won two of the past three meetings with Tampa Bay, and each team has won 18 games and scored 111 goals in the series, so history says this will be a close one.
The Predators just need to avoid the penalties that have plagued them. They lead the NHL in penalty minutes and have given up the fifth-most power-play goals. The penalty kill is 15th in the league and can deny the opportunities if it doesn't spend too much time short-handed. Filip Forsberg has a team-high 26 goals, and Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen both have 23 assists. Duchene also has 23 goals, while Roman Josi has a team-high 53 points (39 assists).
How to make Predators vs. Lightning picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, projecting 6.4 combined goals. It also says one side of the money line has all the value. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Lightning vs. Predators? And which side of the money line has all the value? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Predators vs. Lightning money line to jump on Saturday, all from the advanced model that has simulated this matchup 10,000 times.
