Vegas’ power play ranks 5th in the NHL at 27.8 percent, while Tampa Bay’s penalty kill ranks 22nd at 75 percent. That is one number to know before checking the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds for Tuesday, October 20, 2026, when the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-2-0 this season) visit the Vegas Golden Knights (8-2-0 this season) at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is 10:30 PM ET (7:30 PM local) in Las Vegas, Nev.; TV: ESPN / Sportsnet+.
Storyline: Tampa Bay enters Tuesday at 6-2-0 after a 4-2 win over Vancouver (Oct. 17). Vegas enters Tuesday at 8-2-0 after a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh (Oct. 17). The goal differentials are far apart: Vegas has outscored opponents 42-24 this season, and Tampa Bay has outscored opponents 25-21; its goals-against average ranks 9th of 32 teams (NHL.com). Tampa Bay won both meetings last season: 2-1 in overtime at home on Oct. 26, 2025 and 6-3 in Vegas on Nov. 6, 2025 (NHL.com).
Lightning vs Golden Knights Odds & Line Movement: Moneyline, Puck Line, Total
| Matchup | Tampa Bay Lightning @ Vegas Golden Knights |
|---|---|
| 2026-27 Records | Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2-0 | Vegas Golden Knights 8-2-0 |
| 2025-26 Records | Tampa Bay Lightning 50-26-6 | Vegas Golden Knights 39-26-17 |
| Head Coaches | TBL: Jon Cooper (14th season) | VGK: Ryan Craig (1st season) |
| Puck Line | TBL +1.5 (-250) | VGK -1.5 (+205) |
| Moneyline | Tampa Bay Lightning: -108 | Vegas Golden Knights: -112 |
| Total | O/U 5.5 (o-135 / u+114) |
| Opening Line (DraftKings) | TBL -108 / VGK -112 | total 5.5 |
| Venue | T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas, Nev.) |
| Date / Time | Tuesday, October 20, 2026 — 10:30 PM ET (7:30 PM local) |
| TV / How to Watch | ESPN / Sportsnet+ |
| Probable Starting Goalies | TBL: Andrei Vasilevskiy (probable, per ESPN; not confirmed) | VGK: Carter Hart (probable, per ESPN; not confirmed) |
Lightning vs Golden Knights odds via DraftKings (through ESPN) as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, ~1:35 PM ET. Lines move, so check your sportsbook before puck drop. ESPN lists Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) and Carter Hart (Vegas) as probable starters, not yet confirmed at research time.
In the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds market, DraftKings opened Vegas at -112 and Tampa Bay at -108 on the moneyline, and both prices were unchanged as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, ~1:35 PM ET. The total opened at 5.5 (over -135, under +114) and has not moved. On the puck line, Vegas -1.5 is at +205, the same price it opened at. Opening prices are the first numbers DraftKings posted, per ESPN.
Tampa Bay Lightning Preview: Hagel Leads a 6-2-0 Start
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.
Season so far: Tampa Bay is 6-2-0 through eight games, with 25 goals scored and 21 allowed. Results: a 5-1 loss at the Rangers (Oct. 1), a 3-1 win over Washington (Oct. 3), a 4-1 win over Philadelphia (Oct. 5), a 3-2 win over Minnesota (Oct. 8), a 5-3 win at the Islanders (Oct. 10), a 4-1 loss at the Rangers (Oct. 13), a 4-3 overtime win over Seattle (Oct. 15) and a 4-2 win over Vancouver (Oct. 17). Brandon Hagel has 11 points (six goals, five assists), and Nikita Kucherov has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) (NHL.com).
For more background on Tampa Bay, our Canucks vs Lightning preview from Oct. 17 breaks down the Lightning’s previous matchup.
Tampa Bay Lightning Injury Report
Injury news can move the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds before puck drop. Yanni Gourde (hip surgery) is on the injured non-roster list (ESPN).
Vegas Golden Knights Preview: Eichel Leads a 8-2-0 Start
2025-26 recap: Vegas went 39-26-17 (95 points) and won the Pacific Division, then beat Utah and Anaheim in six games each and swept Colorado in the Western Conference Final before losing to Carolina in six games in the Stanley Cup Final (NHL.com). Eichel led the team with 90 points (27 goals, 63 assists), Mitch Marner had 80 points, Mark Stone had 73 points in 60 games and Pavel Dorofeyev scored a team-high 37 goals.
Offseason moves: Ryan Craig replaced John Tortorella, who finished last season behind the bench. Vegas brought back forward Victor Olofsson and added forward Marc Gatcomb from the Islanders, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (30 points for Pittsburgh) and forward Trevor Connelly, the No. 19 selection in 2024. Dorofeyev now plays for the Rangers, goalie Akira Schmid for Florida, Keegan Kolesar for Detroit and Kaedan Korczak for Pittsburgh (NHL.com).
Key players & coach: Eichel, Marner, Stone, Tomas Hertl, Ivan Barbashev, William Karlsson, Olofsson, Brett Howden and Nic Dowd lead the forwards. Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, Brayden McNabb and Jeremy Lauzon are on defense. Craig is in his first season as coach.
Season so far: Vegas is 8-2-0 through 10 games, with 42 goals scored and 24 allowed. Results: a 5-2 win over Chicago (Sept. 29), a 4-3 loss to Anaheim (Oct. 2), a 3-2 win at Vancouver (Oct. 4), a 6-2 win at Seattle (Oct. 6), a 4-3 shootout win over Toronto (Oct. 8), a 2-1 overtime win over Los Angeles (Oct. 10), a 4-2 loss at Minnesota (Oct. 12), a 5-2 win at Nashville (Oct. 13), a 6-2 win over Calgary (Oct. 15) and a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh (Oct. 17). Jack Eichel has 18 points (five goals, 13 assists), and Mark Stone has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) (NHL.com).
For more background on Vegas, our Penguins vs Golden Knights preview from Oct. 17 breaks down the Golden Knights’ previous matchup.
Vegas Golden Knights Injury Report
Any late change on this list can also shift the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds. Parker Wotherspoon (upper body) is listed as out; Lukas Cormier (undisclosed) is on injured reserve (ESPN).
Goalie Matchup: Vasilevskiy vs Hart
The goalie matchup is one of the biggest inputs in the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds. ESPN lists Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) and Carter Hart (Vegas) as probable starters, not yet confirmed at research time. Here is how each team’s goalies have performed so far in 2026-27 (NHL.com).
Tampa Bay Lightning Goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy has started six games and is 4-2-0 with an .886 save percentage (117 saves on 132 shots). Most recently, he made 24 saves on 27 shots in a 4-3 overtime win over Seattle (Oct. 15). Dennis Hildeby has started two games and is 2-0-0 with a .920 save percentage (46 saves on 50 shots). Most recently, he made 12 saves on 14 shots in a 4-2 win over Vancouver (Oct. 17). ESPN lists Andrei Vasilevskiy as the probable starter for Tuesday (not confirmed at research time).
Vegas Golden Knights Goalies
Carter Hart has started six games and is 4-2-0 with a .911 save percentage (143 saves on 157 shots). Most recently, he made 28 saves on 30 shots in a 6-2 win over Calgary (Oct. 15). Adin Hill has started four games and is 4-0-0 with a .906 save percentage (87 saves on 96 shots). Most recently, he made 22 saves on 24 shots in a 6-2 win over Pittsburgh (Oct. 17). ESPN lists Carter Hart as the probable starter for Tuesday (not confirmed at research time).
Lightning vs Golden Knights Odds: Key Betting Trends
Here is the season data behind the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds. The figures below are straight season data through games before Tuesday, from NHL.com, with over/under counts measured against DraftKings closing totals via ESPN.
- Lightning home/road: Tampa Bay is 5-0-0 at home and 1-2-0 on the road (NHL.com).
- Lightning recent form: Tampa Bay is 4-1-0 in its last five games, with 17 goals scored and 14 allowed in that stretch (NHL.com).
- Lightning totals: Tampa Bay’s games have gone over the DraftKings closing total three times and under five times in eight games with a posted total, averaging 5.8 combined goals per game (DraftKings via ESPN; NHL.com).
- Lightning special teams: Tampa Bay’s power play is converting 10.7 percent (30th in the NHL), and its penalty kill is at 75 percent (22nd) (NHL.com).
- Lightning scoring: Tampa Bay has scored 25 goals and allowed 21 in 8 games (3.12 goals per game) (NHL.com).
- Golden Knights home/road: Vegas is 5-1-0 at home and 3-1-0 on the road (NHL.com).
- Golden Knights recent form: Vegas is 4-1-0 in its last five games, with 21 goals scored and 11 allowed in that stretch (NHL.com).
- Golden Knights totals: Vegas’ games have gone over the DraftKings closing total eight times and under two times in 10 games with a posted total, averaging 6.6 combined goals per game (DraftKings via ESPN; NHL.com).
- Golden Knights special teams: Vegas’ power play is converting 27.8 percent (5th in the NHL), and its penalty kill is at 73.9 percent (24th) (NHL.com).
- Golden Knights scoring: Vegas has scored 42 goals and allowed 24 in 10 games (4.2 goals per game) (NHL.com).
- Combined totals: Across both teams, games have gone over the DraftKings closing total 11 times and under seven times in 18 games with a posted total, against a 5.5 total for this game (DraftKings via ESPN).
Lightning vs Golden Knights Head-to-Head
2025-26 series: Tampa Bay won both meetings last season: 2-1 in overtime at home on Oct. 26, 2025 and 6-3 in Vegas on Nov. 6, 2025 (NHL.com). The two games produced 12 total goals, an average of 6.0 per game.
2026-27 schedule: Tuesday’s game is meeting one of two between the teams this season (NHL.com). Past meetings are history only; the current Lightning vs Golden Knights odds are in the table above.
TV Channel and How to Watch Lightning vs Golden Knights
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2026
Puck drop: 10:30 PM ET (7:30 PM local)
Venue: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nev.
TV: ESPN has the game nationally in the U.S. In Canada, Sportsnet+ carries it (NHL.com).
Schedule spot: Tampa Bay last played on Oct. 17 (2 days off before Tuesday) and visits Colorado on Oct. 23. Vegas last played on Oct. 17 (2 days off before Tuesday) and visits St. Louis on Oct. 22. Neither team played on Monday, Oct. 19, so neither is on the second night of a back-to-back (NHL.com).
Live stats, lineups and the box score will be on the Lightning vs Golden Knights gamecenter on NHL.com, and the official Vegas Golden Knights site posts team news and lineup notes.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Lightning vs Golden Knights
What time is Lightning vs Golden Knights on October 20, 2026?
Puck drop is 10:30 PM ET (7:30 PM local) on Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The Lightning vs Golden Knights odds in this preview were last updated on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026.
What are the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds and puck line?
For the Lightning vs Golden Knights odds, DraftKings lists Tampa Bay +1.5 (-250) and Vegas -1.5 (+205) on the puck line as of Monday, Oct. 19, 2026, ~1:35 PM ET. The moneyline is Tampa Bay Lightning -108 and Vegas Golden Knights -112, and the total is 5.5.
Where can I watch Lightning vs Golden Knights?
ESPN has the game nationally in the U.S. In Canada, Sportsnet+ carries it (NHL.com).
Who are the probable starting goalies for Lightning vs Golden Knights?
ESPN lists Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) and Carter Hart (Vegas) as probable starters, not yet confirmed at research time.