Columbus Blue Jackets vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction: Lightning to secure first win

On October 15, 2022, Nationwide Arena will host another NHL regular season game where local Columbus will play Tampa Bay. The meeting is scheduled to start at 02:00 (UTC+3).

Columbus is a team, that had very modest selection of performers last season, as there was nothing after John Tortorella. However, Brad Larsen was able to rebuild the game in a short period of time, giving the players new roles, so in just one year many of them made great progress. Though, the Jackets never made the playoffs. Johnny Gaudreau joined the Blue and Reds in the summer and should take them to the next level. As the preseason progressed, the team kept playing quite spectacularly with four wins in eight control meetings, but the first game of the regular season was a 1-4 loss to Carolina.

Tampa Bay is a finalist in the last three Stanley Cup games. First, the Lightning won the trophy twice in a row and failed to do so a year earlier, losing the decisive series to Colorado, 2-4. Despite the long offseason, Jon Cooper's players have approached the new season already tired, as they have played the most games in the league in three years, so they need a restart. In five preseason meetings, the Blue and Whites have won only one game, which shows that they are not in the best condition. Moreover, the Southerners lost to the Rangers 1-3 in the first game of the new regular season, playing very poor hockey.

The teams played 43 head-to-head encounters during the NHL regular seasons. The Jackets have14 wins, the Lightning claiming 28, and one more game ended in a draw. The goal difference is also on the side of the guests, 130-95. Last season, the opponents met three times: Tampa Bay won twice (7-2 and 4-1), and Columbus was stronger once, 5-2.

Columbus and Tampa Bay are very different teams at the moment. While the Jackets under Brad Larsen are actively progressing, even in their current state they are significantly inferior to the Lightning in skill and experience. This is evidenced by the recent head-to-head statistics, with Jon Cooper's team winning five of the last six encounters. The finalist of the last Stanley Cup began the new season with a loss, which will only cheer them up, so we should consider betting on Tampa Bay's win for 1.90.

Brad Larsen did the impossible last season, restructuring the game of his charges, who previously worked under John Tortorella, acting in an extremely pragmatic and defensive manner. In 82 regular season games, the Jackets scored 562 pucks (6.85 average per game), which is a very respectable benchmark by NHL standards. Tampa Bay is not a team that will refuse an open exchange of punches, so we can expect a productive battle, and the best option seems to be Total Over (6.5) pucks at odds close to 2.00.

Prediction: Tampa Bay will win for 1.90 at Bet365.

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