Tampa Bay Lightning vs Columbus Blue Jackets Predictions

Tampa Bay faces a quick turnaround

Tampa Bay visits Columbus for the second half of a road back-to-back after beating Buffalo 8-3 on Wednesday. TampaBayLightning.com / NHL.com reports that this is the first of three meetings between the teams this season.

The Lightning improved to 12-4-2 with the win and are 5-1-2 over their past eight games. NHL.com reports that Nikita Kucherov scored a natural third-period hat trick and added an assist, while John Carlson had a goal and four assists. That form favors Tampa Bay, but it doesn't remove the risk of playing on consecutive nights.

Unconfirmed goalies limit the betting case

Daily Faceoff lists Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa Bay and Cam Talbot for Columbus, but both are unconfirmed. Vasilevskiy made 28 saves Wednesday, so bettors don't yet know whether he will start again without a rest day. That uncertainty also makes the 6.5 total difficult to price.

Prediction and betting view

SPF lists Tampa Bay at -118 and Columbus at -102. The Lightning are the likely winner, but their schedule and unsettled goalie assignment don't justify laying the moneyline price. Tampa Bay -1.5 requires a two-goal road win under the same conditions, while the listed 50-50 split is a default measure rather than usable public-betting evidence. The best betting decision is Pass.