Wild vs. Lightning Prediction & Picks - Oct. 8

The Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1) square off against the Minnesota Wild (2-0-1) at Benchmark International Arena on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+. The Lightning took down the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 in their most recent outing, while the Wild are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

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Ahead of watching this matchup, here is a glimpse at which squad we predict will emerge with the victory in Thursday's action on the ice.

Wild vs. Lightning Predictions for Thursday

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

• Moneyline Pick: Wild (+122)
• 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 to contribute to an overall record of 50-26-6.
• Tampa Bay was 14-12-6 (34 points) in its 32 games decided by one goal.
• In the 11 games last season the Lightning scored only one goal, they went 3-7-1 (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 three or more 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).
• 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 46-24-12 record last season, and were 16-14-30 in contests that went to overtime.
• Minnesota picked up 43 points (17-5-9) in its 31 games decided by one goal.
• Across the 11 games last season the Wild finished with only one goal, they picked up four points.
• Minnesota picked up 12 points (4-12-4 record) last season when scoring a pair of goals .
• The Wild scored at least three goals 62 times, accumulating 100 points (46-8-8).
• Minnesota scored a lone power-play goal in 38 games last season and recorded 47 points.
• When outshooting its opponent last season, Minnesota was 23-12-5 (51 points).
• The Wild were outshot by their opponents 51 times last season, and took 63 points from those games.

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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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