The Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning clash for an Atlantic Division showdown on Tuesday. This is the first of four meetings this season, and we are here to prepare you with our Red Wings vs Lightning prediction.
Detroit is coming off an impressive and surprising road win against a tough Florida Panthers team last night, but I don’t see them with the same fate in this one. Star Dylan Larkin has officially left the team as he waits for a trade, which is a major blow to an already weak roster. It may light a spark under the team, but that will only take them so far. Two games in as many nights is hard enough, let alone against a strong 8-3-2 squad. Tampa Bay’s offense has been a major part of their success this season, scoring 3.69 goals per game, which is fifth-best in the league. Their power play hasn’t seen the same success, but lucky for the Lightning, they will play against the sixth-worst penalty kill (68.9%).
The future for Tampa Bay is uncertain, especially with their leader Nikita Kucherov confirming he would not re-sign with them in the offseason, but their roster is still elite. Tampa Bay should have this taken care of within regulation.
Red Wings vs Lightning prediction: Lightning 3-way ML (-150) available at time of publishing. Playable to -170.
