Minnesota Wild at Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Preview
24 January 2023
There are some big NHL games on the schedule on Tuesday night, including a battle of Stanley Cup title contenders down in Florida. The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Minnesota Wild, and there will be plenty of star power on the ice in this one.
Minnesota is currently in the middle of a tough road trip, and they have dropped two straight games to Florida and Carolina. The Wild are still 25-16-4 on the year, and they are going to factor into the playoff race in the Western Conference.
Tampa Bay is set to return home after a long road trip, and that journey ended with a pair of losses to teams up in Canada. The Lightning come into this game with 59 points on the year, and they are in the mix in the very tough Atlantic Division.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the moneyline betting favorites at -163 over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Wild Must Win With Defense
The Minnesota Wild are a team that wants to score goals and play fast on the offensive end of the ice. Minnesota definitely has shown that capability, but they are actually a much better overall team when they defend well.
The Wild are holding opponents to just 2.84 goals against per game, and that has helped them turn things around after a very slow start to the year. Minnesota will be challenged defensively against a great Lightning team, but goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury will be up to the task.
Kirill Kaprizov continues to have a big year for the Wild, and he leads the team with 26 goals and 30 assists. There are other great weapons on this game, but it is Kaprizov that sets the tone on offense.
Lightning Great on Special Teams
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a team that knows how to win a Stanley Cup, and that is always done by playing great on special teams. That has been working well for the Lightning this season as well, as they have scored on the power play over 27 percent of the time, and have killed off 80 percent of their penalties.
Nikita Kucherov has had a huge season for the Lightning on offense, as he leads the team with 48 assists and 66 total points. Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 20-12-1 in net this season, and he has the ability to completely take over a game.
Tampa Bay is no longer the Stanley Cup title favorite, but they are good enough to win it again.
Lightning Skate Past the Wild
The overall numbers for the Wild and Lightning look extremely similar this season, and that is going to make it difficult to predict how this game will play out. Minnesota is a team that wants to speed up the tempo in most games, but that strategy isn’t always the best to use against Tampa Bay.
This game might come down to special teams, and that is one area in which Tampa Bay seems to have an advantage. The Lightning are going to be able to bounce back after a few rough days and move past the Minnesota Wild in a thriller.
Bet the Tampa Bay Lightning -163 as they are going to find just enough offense to move past the Minnesota Wild in this game.
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All Media on this page by Associated Press.
