Our Minnesota Wild vs Tampa Bay Lightning preview covers the odds, puck line, total, start time, TV channel and where to watch on Thursday, October 8, 2026. The Minnesota Wild (2-0-1 this season; 46-24-12 in 2025-26) visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1-0 this season; 50-26-6 in 2025-26) at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local). TV: MINNHL / Wild+ / The Spot.
Storyline: Minnesota is 2-0-1 after its first loss of the season, 3-2 in overtime at Buffalo on Tuesday, and has allowed five goals in three games without allowing a power-play goal. Tampa Bay has won two straight at home, 3-1 over Washington and 4-1 over Philadelphia, and Andrei Vasilevskiy has started all three games. The teams split two meetings last season (NHL.com). DraftKings lists Tampa Bay at -148 and Minnesota at +124 on the moneyline, with the total at 5.5.
Minnesota Wild vs Tampa Bay Lightning Odds, Puck Line & Game Info
| Matchup | Minnesota Wild @ Tampa Bay Lightning |
|---|---|
| 2026-27 Records | Minnesota Wild 2-0-1 | Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1-0 |
| 2025-26 Records | Minnesota Wild 46-24-12 | Tampa Bay Lightning 50-26-6 |
| Head Coaches | MIN: John Hynes (4th season) | TBL: Jon Cooper (14th season) |
| Puck Line | MIN +1.5 (-185) | TBL -1.5 (+154) |
| Moneyline | Minnesota Wild: +124 | Tampa Bay Lightning: -148 |
| Total | O/U 5.5 (o-130 / u+110) |
| Venue | Benchmark International Arena (Tampa, Fla.) |
| Date / Time | Thursday, October 8, 2026 — 7:00 PM ET |
| TV / How to Watch | MINNHL / Wild+ / The Spot |
| Probable Starting Goalies | MIN: TBD (Jesper Wallstedt / Calvin Pickard) | TBL: TBD (Andrei Vasilevskiy / Dennis Hildeby) |
Odds via DraftKings (through ESPN), cross-checked on Action Network, as of Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, ~6:19 PM ET. Totals ranged from 5.5 to 6.5 across books at research time. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before puck drop. Starting goalies had not been confirmed at research time.
Minnesota Wild Preview: Perfect Penalty Kill Through Three Games
2025-26 recap: Minnesota went 46-24-12 (104 points), finished third in the Central Division, beat Dallas in six games in the first round and lost to Colorado in five games in the second round. Kirill Kaprizov led the team with 89 points (45 goals, 44 assists, 19 power-play goals), Matt Boldy had 42 goals and 85 points, and Quinn Hughes had 53 points in 48 games after Minnesota acquired him from Vancouver (NHL.com).
Offseason moves: Minnesota added forward Blake Coleman (20 goals for Calgary last season), forward Maxim Shabanov from the Islanders, defenseman Olli Maatta and goalie Calvin Pickard from Edmonton. Mats Zuccarello, who had 54 points, now plays for Los Angeles, and defenseman Jake Middleton for Calgary (NHL.com).
Key players & coach: Kaprizov, Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, Coleman, Marcus Foligno, Nick Foligno, Bobby Brink, Shabanov and Danila Yurov lead the forwards. Hughes, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Zach Bogosian and Maatta are on defense. John Hynes is in his fourth season as coach.
Goalies: Jesper Wallstedt went 18-9-6 with a 2.61 GAA, .916 save percentage and four shutouts in 35 games last season. He has started all three games, making 19 saves on 20 shots at Nashville, 26 saves on 27 shots against Boston and 25 saves on 28 shots at Buffalo. Pickard went 5-6-2 in 16 games for Edmonton last season and has not played yet this season. Filip Gustavsson is on injured reserve after hip surgery. Minnesota had not confirmed a starter at research time.
Season so far: Nick Foligno, Coleman (power play) and Kaprizov scored in a 3-1 win at Nashville on Oct. 1, and Kaprizov scored twice in a 4-1 win over Boston on Oct. 3. At Buffalo on Tuesday, Yurov (power play) and Shabanov scored in the second period for a 2-0 lead, but the Sabres tied it in the third and Owen Power won it at 4:22 of overtime. Hughes has four points in three games (NHL.com).
Injuries: Nick Foligno (upper body) is day to day. Defenseman Brock Faber had surgery to repair a fractured skull and has no timetable to return, per The Athletic, and Gustavsson (hip surgery) is on injured reserve (ESPN).
Tampa Bay Lightning Preview: Two Straight Wins at Home
2025-26 recap: Tampa Bay went 50-26-6 (106 points), finished second in the Atlantic Division and lost to Montreal in seven games in the first round. Nikita Kucherov won the Hart Trophy after scoring 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 games, Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy and Jon Cooper won the Jack Adams Award for the first time (NHL.com). Jake Guentzel had 38 goals and 88 points, and Brandon Hagel scored 36 goals.
Offseason moves: Tampa Bay signed defenseman John Carlson to a two-year, $17 million contract to replace Darren Raddysh, who had 70 points last season and was traded to Toronto. The Lightning also signed forwards Ilya Mikheyev (four years) and Jeffrey Viel (five years) and acquired goalie Dennis Hildeby from Toronto for forward Nick Paul (TampaBayLightning.com, NHL.com).
Key players & coach: Kucherov, Brayden Point, Guentzel, Hagel, Anthony Cirelli, Mikheyev, Pontus Holmberg and Conor Geekie lead the forwards. Victor Hedman is back after a personal leave that lasted from March 20 through the end of last season, and Carlson, J.J. Moser, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Charle-Edouard D’Astous round out the defense. Cooper is in his 14th season as coach.
Goalies: Vasilevskiy went 39-15-4 with a 2.31 GAA, .912 save percentage and two shutouts in 58 games last season. He has made 20 saves on 24 shots at the Rangers, 20 saves on 21 shots against Washington and 14 saves on 15 shots against Philadelphia. Hildeby went 5-7-4 with a 2.86 GAA and .914 save percentage in 20 games for Toronto last season and has not played yet this season. Tampa Bay had not confirmed a starter at research time.
Season so far: The Rangers beat Tampa Bay 5-1 on Oct. 1. D’Astous and Geekie scored in a 3-1 win over Washington on Oct. 3. On Monday, Point, Holmberg, Mikheyev and Hagel (empty net) scored in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia, and the Lightning outshot the Flyers 36-15. Kucherov has four points in three games (NHL.com).
Injuries: Defenseman Emil Lilleberg (undisclosed) was ruled out Monday for about a week, per the Tampa Bay Times. Forward Yanni Gourde (hip surgery) is out until at least December, and forward Dominic James (broken hand) is on the injured non-roster list (ESPN, NHL.com).
Key Matchup Notes: Wild vs Lightning
- Schedule spot: Minnesota last played Tuesday and visits Florida on Saturday. Tampa Bay last played Monday and visits the Islanders on Saturday.
- Last season: The teams split two meetings. Minnesota won 5-1 at home on March 3, and Tampa Bay won 6-3 at home on March 24 (NHL.com).
- Special teams: Minnesota has killed every penalty and is converting 36.4 percent of its power plays. Tampa Bay has not scored on the power play and has killed 85.7 percent of penalties.
- Scoring: Minnesota has nine goals in three games and has allowed five. Tampa Bay has eight goals in three games and has allowed seven.
- In goal: Wallstedt has a .933 save percentage in three starts. Vasilevskiy has a .900 save percentage in three starts.
- Odds snapshot: Tampa Bay -148 / Minnesota +124 on the moneyline, Lightning -1.5 (+154) on the puck line, total 5.5 (DraftKings).
How to Watch Minnesota Wild vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Puck drop: 7:00 PM ET (7:00 PM local)
Venue: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, Fla.
TV: MINNHL and Wild+ carry the game in the Wild’s market, and The Spot carries it in the Lightning’s market (NHL.com). ESPN also lists ESPN+ streaming. No U.S. national TV or Canadian broadcast is listed at research time.
Check the puck line, moneyline and total above against your sportsbook before the October 8, 2026 puck drop, and look for confirmed starting goalies closer to game time.