- 1 Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning: two leaky goaltending numbers and a Lightning back-to-back
- 2 Columbus Blue Jackets: 6-3-0 at Nationwide Arena, 1-5-0 everywhere else
- 3 Tampa Bay Lightning: 3.73 goals a game and a back-to-back to close the trip
- 4 Free NHL Prediction: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning: two leaky goaltending numbers and a Lightning back-to-back 
Columbus beat Tampa Bay in all three meetings last season: 3-2 on 18 October, 8-5 on 24 January and 5-2 in Tampa on 10 March. The two teams meet for the first time this season at Nationwide Arena on Thursday 12 November, 7:00pm ET.
Tampa Bay are the better team on the standings, 11-3-2 with a six-game point streak, but almost all of that damage has been done at home, where they’re 8-0-0. On the road they’re 3-3-2.
Thursday is also the second night of a back-to-back for the Lightning, who play in Buffalo on Wednesday, and the fourth game of a four-game road trip. Columbus are 7-8-0 but 6-3-0 at home, and they’ll have played only once, against Florida on Tuesday, since 6 November.
Nikita Kucherov is in the final year of his eight-year, $76 million contract and has asked for a trade, saying it was never about money. General manager BriseBois has said the team has no intention of moving him. On Saturday Kucherov ended a seven-game goal drought with the overtime power-play winner in Minnesota.
Neither team has kept the puck out. Tampa Bay concede 3.00 goals a game and Andrei Vasilevskiy is saving .887. Columbus have allowed 47 goals in 15 games and their penalty kill sits at 73.2%.
Columbus Blue Jackets: 6-3-0 at Nationwide Arena, 1-5-0 everywhere else 
Home ice has made all the difference for Columbus. They beat Colorado 7-2 at home on 3 November and Dallas 2-1 in a shootout two nights later, then lost 5-2 in Buffalo on the second night of a back-to-back.
Zach Werenski had ten assists and no goals before scoring on the power play in both of those last two games. Kent Johnson led the team with 12 points through the first 12 games and had a goal and an assist in Buffalo.
Valeri Nichushkin arrived from Colorado on 25 June for three draft picks, and Matthew Knies came from Toronto in the deal that sent Kirill Marchenko the other way on the eve of the season. Rick Bowness’s team still scores only around 2.5 goals per game.
The special teams don’t help: a 16.2% power play (28th) and a 73.2% penalty kill (24th). Jet Greaves has been the main starter and made 32 saves in Buffalo, while Cam Talbot, signed on 15 September, started the Dallas game.
Sean Monahan (lower body) and Dmitri Voronkov (upper body) both left the Buffalo game and were being evaluated. Isac Lundestrom is on long-term injured reserve after Achilles surgery but has started skating.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Tampa Bay Lightning: 3.73 goals a game and a back-to-back to close the trip 
Tampa Bay score 3.73 goals per game. Before last week’s games Kucherov had 20 points, 16 of them assists, Brandon Hagel led the team with eight goals, and Jake Guentzel had 14 points. Guentzel scored twice and added an assist in Minnesota.
The comeback in Minnesota was their first multigoal third-period comeback win since 19 November 2024. D’Astous tied it 6-on-4 with 3:31 left, and Brayden Point’s two assists took him to 700 career points.
Goaltending is shared on the road trip. Vasilevskiy is at .887 with a 2.75 goals-against average, and Dennis Hildeby, acquired from Toronto on 1 July for Nick Paul and picks, started in Minnesota and made 19 saves. With Buffalo the night before, the starter for Columbus isn’t confirmed.
The penalty kill runs at 77.5% and the power play at 17.3%, although the power play scored three times against the Wild. John Carlson, who signed for two years on 1 July, has replaced Darren Raddysh, who went to Toronto in a sign-and-trade on 19 June.
Yanni Gourde is on injured reserve through early December. Ilya Mikheyev, signed for four years in the summer, scored twice against Chicago on 5 November in a 4-1 win.
Probable lineup Columbus Blue Jackets: Not announced at time of publication
Probable lineup Tampa Bay Lightning: Based on the 7 November lines: Guentzel, Point, Kucherov; Hagel, Cirelli, Goncalves; Mikheyev, Girgensons, Holmberg; Viel, Geekie, Sabourin. Defence: McDonagh-Cernak, Hedman-Moser, D’Astous-Carlson. Goaltender: not confirmed
Free NHL Prediction: Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Our prediction: Over 6.5 goals
We’re going with goals. Both teams concede three or more a game, Vasilevskiy is saving .887, Columbus kill only 73.2% of penalties, and Tampa Bay arrive on the second night of a back-to-back with a goaltending decision to make.
We’d also note the head-to-head: 25 goals in the three meetings last season, including 13 in the January game. The argument against is Columbus’s scoring rate of about 2.5 a game, but they’ve scored seven against Colorado at home and Tampa Bay are only 3-3-2 away from home.
No total was posted at the time of writing. We’d play the over at 6.5 and would drop it if the line opens at 7.
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
_________
About our free predictions
- What we publish on MathOdds are analyses, nothing more. We share a view, a reading of the moment, but never a guarantee. Sport remains what it is: unpredictable. A red card, an injury, a last-minute goal, and the script changes completely.
- Let’s be clear: there is no such thing as a risk-free bet. Even when it looks “obvious”, nothing ever is. And yes, that means you can lose. It’s even inevitable at some point.
- The smartest approach is to stay reasonable. Bet small, set a budget and stick to it. Never use money you need to live on. And above all: don’t chase your losses: that rarely ends well.
- A bet should remain a game, not a job or a source of income. If it starts taking up too much space in your daily life, causes stress or frustration, take a break. And if needed, talk to a support organisation: that’s what they’re there for.
- Ultimately, responsibility lies with you. Reading our content means accepting that risk exists and will never disappear, no matter how good the analysis.
- Essential reminder: gambling is prohibited for minors and must comply with the laws of your country. Need help? Visit begambleaware.org.
No commitment from us
Our predictions carry no contractual value. They have no legal standing. In short: you cannot rely on them to claim anything if a bet doesn’t come through.
Information changes
A prediction is always based on what we know at the time of writing. But between publication and kick-off, a lineup can change, a player picks up an injury, the weather turns, and the analysis can quickly be outdated. We cannot be held responsible for that.
Your responsibility
Before placing a bet, simply check that gambling is legal in your country. If it isn’t, that’s your responsibility, not ours.
Responsible gambling
We can’t say it enough: gamble responsibly. If you’re struggling to stay in control, don’t wait to seek help.
Legal age
MathOdds content is intended for adults only. By browsing here, you confirm you meet the legal age requirement for gambling in your jurisdiction.
About visuals
The images and logos of Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning on MathOdds are used solely to illustrate our articles. They do not imply any official affiliation with a federation or sports organisation, and we claim no rights over them. Those rights belong to their original owners. If any visual raises a concern, contact us and it will be removed without delay.
Leave a Reply