The Tampa Bay Lightning had a rough start to their season, which had Jon Cooper questioning his group's buy-in. The veteran-heavy Lightning received the message loud and clear, as they have outscored their opponents 7-2 over the past two games. The Minnesota Wild are coming off a disappointing 3-2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres, but they have recorded five of a possible six points through their first three games. All eyes have been on Quinn Hughes' long-term future in Minnesota, but it looks like the team will keep its head down and make a run in the Western Conference.
Jesper Wallstedt has been a wall for the Wild thus far, owning a 1.63 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage. While it will be worth monitoring the starting goaltender situation, as both Wallstedt and Andrei Vasilevskiy have started each of their teams' games to begin the year, Thursday will be quite the matchup if both starters are in the crease. None of Minnesota’s games have gone over 5.5 this season, while Tampa Bay’s last two games have also capped out at five and four goals. Despite two dangerous offenses, it could be another low-scoring affair.
Wild vs Lightning prediction: Under 5.5 (+110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.
