Nashville Predators vs Tampa Bay Lightning: Game Preview, Lines, Odds Predictions, & more

The 2023-24 NHL season kicks off with three games on Tuesday with the first game being the Nashville Predators vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Nashville has a new GM for the first time in franchise history as Barry Trotz took over for the retired David Poile. The Predators were a bit disappointing last season as Nashville failed to make the playoffs.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, was eliminated in the first round by the Toronto Maple Leafs but will have to be without Andrei Vasilevskiy for the first two months of the season.

The game goes down at 5:30 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. The game can be seen on ESPN in America and Sportsnet in Canada.

Nashville Predators preview

The Nashville Predators underwent a culture change as Barry Trotz made some big moves by buying out Matt Duchene and trading Ryan Johansen.

Trotz was also active in free agency as he signed Ryan O'Reilly, Luke Schenn, and Tyson Barrie.

However, the Predators are currently not favored to make the playoffs according to the oddsmakers.

Tampa Bay Lightning preview

The Tampa Bay Lightning got devastating news just under two weeks before the season kicked off as goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will be out for the first eight weeks of the season.

The Lightning will now be led by Jonas Johansson in net for the time being, who only has 35 games under his belt. But, Tampa Bay did a good job of replacing some departing players as the Lightning signed the likes of Connor Sheary, Tyler Motte, Luke Glendening, and Austin Watson.

Even with Vasilevskiy's injury, Tampa Bay is still favored to make the playoffs.

Predators & Lightning lines

Nashville Predators lines

Forwards

• Forsberg-O'Reilly-Parssinen
• Nyquist-Glass-Sherwood
• Tomasino-Novak-Evangelista
• Trenin-Sissons-Smith

Defensemen

• Josi-Barrie
• McDonagh-Carrier
• Fabbro-Schenn

Goalies

• Saros
• Lankinen

Tampa Bay Lightning lines

Forwards

• Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
• Hagel-Cirelli-Motte
• Eyssimont-Paul-Sheary
• Jeannot-Glendening-Watson

Defensemen

• Hedman-Perbix
• Sergachev-Raddysh
• De Haan-Cernak

Goalies

• Johansson
• Tomkins

Predators vs. Lightning Odds & Predictions

The Tampa Bay Lightning are -155 favorites while the comeback on Nashville is +130. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals for this one.

Even without Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Tampa Bay Lightning are still favored to beat the Nashville Predators and that is likely due to their offense. Tampa Bay is still a tough team to play against, but Johansson is a concern as he has struggled in limited action in the NHL.

However, the Lightning have a good D-core who will look to block shots, while Nashville's offense isn't a huge threat.

Prediction: Lightning 3, Predators 2