Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey looks at the scheduled games and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups. In today’s NHL Predictions round, we are looking at the game between the Seattle Kraken vs. Tampa Bay Lightning. Be sure to check out more NHL Predictions as the 2024-25 season continues. Remember, a prediction is an educated guess. If we knew things like this for sure, we would be sitting right now in a Las Vegas Casino.
NHL Predictions
Seattle Kraken vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
Time: 6:00 P.M. Eastern Time
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Sun, LONG
Head-to-Head: Lightning Lead 1-0
The two teams met once already this season. The Lightning defeated the Kraken 5–1 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Coffee, Tea and an Offensive Spree
We open this NHL prediction article with the Seattle Kraken trying to build momentum against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Seattle is expected to start Joey Daccord in net as they continue their push in a competitive Western Conference. The Kraken have been playing solid hockey lately, with a 6-3-1 record in their last ten games. Jared McCann has been a key offensive contributor, tallying 24 goals and 29 assists on the season. He’s been an offensive force, particularly in the Neutral Zone, and his local Starbucks on a crowded morning.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, are mostly tea drinkers (another prediction) and are looking to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With six of the next eight games coming out of the break played at home, Tampa Bay has a chance to rise from third in the Atlantic division for the Lightning playoff positioning. The schedule, however, does not provide an easy start coming out of the 4 Nations break. The upcoming games against Calgary and Edmonton are particularly stress-inducing and send a chill down the spine of any Tampa Bay Lightning fan, even though they live in sweltering Florida, where a cold day is when it dips under 80 degrees.
In goal for Tampa, Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to get the start for the Lightning as they try to improve their 5-4-1 record in the last ten. Nikita Kucherov remains the offensive catalyst, racking up 35 goals and 50 assists so far this season.
As of now, the Seattle Kraken have not officially announced their goaltender to start tonight’s match. Joey Daccord has been the primary starter this season, with a 20-14-3 record with a 2.52 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. He made 26 saves in the Kraken’s recent 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers on February 22, 2025.
Home Ice: you shall not pass!
Seattle has been playing well, but facing Tampa Bay on home ice is always challenging. Over the past three seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning have demonstrated strong performance on home ice:
2022–23 Season: The Lightning had a home record of 28 wins, 8 losses, and 5 OT losses.
2023–24 Season: They recorded 25 wins, 11 losses, and 5 OT losses.
2024–25 Season (as of February 23, 2025): The team has secured 18 wins, 7 losses, and 2 overtime losses on home ice.
These consistent home records underscore the Lightning’s advantage when playing at Amalie Arena. To keep the Seattle Kraken’s Jared McCann in check, it is strongly advised that the concession stands refrain from selling Starbucks coffee.
Prop Bets of the Night
We round out NHL Predictions with some prop bets of the night. For this featured game, some of our top picks are:
– For the Seattle Kraken, take Matty Beniers to record over 0.5 points as he looks to stay hot. In Florida, this shouldn’t be a hard thing.
– On the Tampa Bay Lightning side, look for Brayden Point to score a goal, given his strong home-ice performances.
Who will come out on top in this East vs. West battle? Caffeinated versus decaffeinated? Stay tuned for more NHL action!
Main Photo: Steven Bisig- Imagn Images
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