Wild vs. Lightning Prediction & Picks - Oct. 8

The Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1) and Minnesota Wild (2-0-1) face off at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Lightning defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in their last game, while the Wild are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

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Get ready for this showdown with a glimpse at who we predict will come out on top in Thursday's contest.

Wild vs. Lightning Predictions for Thursday

Our computer projections model for this encounter predicts a final tally of Wild 3, Lightning 2.

• Moneyline Pick: Wild (+123)
• Total Pick: Under 6 (computer predicts 4.8 goals on average)
• Spread Pick: Wild (+1.5)

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Lightning Splits and Trends

• The Lightning went 12-8-20 in overtime contests last season as part of an overall record of 50-26-6.
• Tampa Bay picked up 34 points (14-12-6) in the 32 games it played that were decided by one goal.
• Looking at the 11 times last season the Lightning ended a game with just one goal, they had a 3-7-1 record, picking up seven points.
• Tampa Bay took 14 points from the 21 games last season when it scored exactly two goals (5-12-4 record).
• The Lightning scored at least three goals 55 times, and went 45-7-3 in those games (to record 93 points).
• In the 30 games when Tampa Bay recorded a lone power-play goal, it had a 17-9-4 record (38 points).
• In the 51 games last season when it outshot its opponent, Tampa Bay was 30-15-6 (66 points).
• The Lightning's opponent had more shots in 36 games last season. The Lightning went 21-13-2 in those contests (44 points).

Wild Splits and Trends

• The Wild had a record of 46-24-12 last season and were 16-14-30 in overtime contests.
• Minnesota accumulated 43 points (17-5-9) in its 31 games that finished with a one-goal margin.
• In 11 games last season when the Wild ended up with just one goal, they picked up four points (1-8-2).
• Minnesota picked up 12 points (4-12-4 record) last season when scoring a pair of goals .
• The Wild scored more than two goals in 62 games, earning 100 points from those contests.
• Last season Minnesota scored a lone power-play goal in 38 games, posting a record of 20-11-7.
• When outshooting its opponent last season, Minnesota was 23-12-5 (51 points).
• The Wild were outshot by their opponents in 51 games last season, going 27-15-9 to record 63 points.

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Team Stats Comparison (2025-26)

Wild vs. Lightning Game Time and TV Channel

• When: Thursday, October 8, 2026 at 7 p.m. ET
• TV Channel: ESPN+
• Live Stream: Watch this game on ESPN+
• Where: Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida

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