Taking the show on the road, Lightning at Predators Preview

Game Ten: Tampa Bay Lightning (3-4-2) at Nashville Predators (4-4-2)

Time: 7:45 PM EST

Location: Bridgestone Arena, Smashville USA

TV/Stream/Radio: Scripps, TVAS (JIP), FDSNSO, ESPN+, 102.5 FM, Lightning App

Odds: Lightning -160

Know the Opponents: Predlines

What’s up with that crazy start time? Oh, didn’t you know that every NHL team is in action tonight and it’s ESPN’s Frozen Frenzy? Glad their marketing is working. That’s right, it’s the one night a year where the NHL actually does staggered starts so that their top broadcast partner in the States can do whip-around coverage of the league. It’s Red Zone for hockey.

So, that means instead of a traditional 7:00 or 7:30 local puck drop time, the Bolts and Preds are getting rolling somewhere around 7:45. Good for them. For the Lightning it’s a one-game road trip before they are back at Benchmark to take on the Stars to close out the month of October. From there it’s a true road trip as they sally forth through the eastern edge of the west coast with games in Utah, Colorado, and Vegas.

First though, they have to visit a few old friends in Steven Stamkos (just bought a house in Tampa!), Nick Perbix (top pairing on defense!), and Jonathan Marchessault (Marshmallow!) as they take on the Nashville Predators. Tampa Bay is 12-9-2 all-time at Bridgestone Arena (and 1-0-0 under the lights of Nissan Stadium).

It’s been an up-and-down season for Nashville as they won two of their first three games, lost four in a row, and have now won two of their last three. Much like the Lightning they’ve been involved in a lot of tight games as five of them have been decided by one goal. They also share a middling offensive start to the season with both teams hanging around the middle of the back when it comes to 5v5 shot attempts and scoring chances.

Old friend Steven Stamkos is off to a particularly rough start as he has just one goal in ten games (yes, it came on the power play) and an assist. In a sentence that should never exist, he is getting outscored by Nick Perbix, who has three points in ten games. With Roman Josi on the sidelines, Perbix has been elevated to the top-pairing, which, honestly, good for him. He always had solid underlying stats with the Lightning, even when they didn’t always match the eye test.

Tonight could be a bit of a slog of a game as both teams hope to get their offenses going. The Lightning have been generating a few more chances of late, but the payoff just hasn’t been there. In their last seven games they are 3-2-2 and have bumped their expected-goals-per-60 to 3.17 at 5v5 while averaging more than 27 shots per 60 minutes. Their actual goals-for-per-60 of 2.38 indicates that the finishing isn’t quite there yet, but historically, once they start producing chances on a regular basis, the goals start coming. Also, they’ve struck iron 16 times already this season, which is quite a bit.

They do seem to be getting back into the form we saw for much of last season, at least defensively. The weekend back-to-back featured two of their most complete games of the season, with the final three minutes of the win against Anaheim an absolute clinic of how to close out a game with the lead.

There are no easy games in this league, so the Bolts will need to keep playing with that type of intensity if they want to keep digging their way back up the standings. While they do have plenty of skill (the disallowed goal against Vegas may be a top-10 prettiest goal in their history) it’s going to be will and determination that wins games. They’ve been much better at winning battles in front of the net and along the boards of late, which has led to more zone time and more chances.

Brandon Hagel’s goal against Vegas is a perfect example of that. Not only does he win the battle in front of the net to put home the rebound, but J.J. Moser and Jake Guentzel team up along the boards to keep the puck in the zone and maintain possession.

Tampa Bay goal! Scored by Brandon Hagel with 15:07 remaining in the 1st period. Assisted by Victor Hedman and Jake Guentzel. Tampa Bay: 1 Vegas: 0 #VGKvsTBL #GoBolts #VegasBorn

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— NHL Goals (@nhlgoals.bsky.social) October 26, 2025 at 5:26 PM

That’s what is going to keep putting points in the bank.

Potential Lines

Tampa Bay Lightning

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Defense:

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Nashville Predators

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Defense:

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