Wild Looks to Take Advantage of Home Field Against Struggling Lightning

Game outlook

The Tampa Bay Lightning will travel to Minnesota's Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night to take on the Wild. Tampa Bay is currently with an 18-21 record, slightly better than Minnesota's 16-16-4. The Lightning won one of their two matchups with the Wild last season, and will be the betting favorite opening at -130 with no line movement. The puck drops at 8 PM EST.

Betting Odds

Moneyline: Lightning -130 | Wild +113

Spread: Lightning -1.5 (+188) | Wild +1.5 (-225)

Total: Over/Under 6 (-110)

Based on the moneyline, the implied probability that Tampa Bay will win straight-up is 57%.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Victor Hedman has played well leading the team with 38 points, while Nikita Kucherov is the leading scorer with 63 and second in the league for goals (27). In their last game, Tampa Bay was an underdog by +120 yet lost 4-2 against the Winnipeg Jets. Despite the offensive struggles, Kucherov scored a goal and had an assist, while Victor Hedman added two assists. In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 of 27 shots faced. Tampa Bay has had a struggle with their offense and goaltending this season, with a record of 18-21, 14th in offense, 27th in defense and a 9th power ranking. Victor Hedman and Nikita Kucherov lead the team points, respectively with 38 and 63 points. Despite being a +120 underdog in their last match against Winnipeg Jets, Tampa Bay lost 4-2 with Kucherov scoring a goal and an assist, Victor Hedman with two assists and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopping 24 shots out of 27 shots faced.