Carolina Hurricanes vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Picks and Prediction for Saturday, December 20, 2025
Use Code WWWC Carolina Hurricanes (22-9-2) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (18-13-3)
The NHL betting action goes on Saturday, December 20, 2025, with the huge 13-game card, and in this preview, we are breaking down the Eastern Conference showdown from Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, FL, to get you the Hurricanes vs. Lightning prediction.
Carolina meets Tampa Bay for the first time this season. In 2024-25, the Lightning took two out of three games from the Hurricanes, and Tampa Bay has won five of its previous seven encounters with Carolina.
Read more about this Hurricanes vs. Lightning prediction, and check out all our NHL picks for Saturday’s slate. The Hurricanes open as slight -118 moneyline favorites with a total of 5.5 goals, and the puck drop is set at 7:00 PM ET.
The Hurricanes play without rest
Friday’s games have been excluded from the analysis, and the Carolina Hurricanes visited the Florida Panthers on Friday night, searching for their sixth straight victory. In their previous five outings, the Canes have recorded three shootout wins over the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers twice, along with a pair of 4-1 wins against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators.
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Brandon Bussi was in the starter’s crease at Carolina’s Friday morning skate, so we should see Pyotr Kochetkov in the net on Saturday night. Kochetkov has been outstanding this season, going 6-1-0 with a 1.95 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Last Wednesday, Kochetkov posted 25 saves in a 4-1 road victory over the Predators.
The Hurricanes are eighth in the NHL in goals against (2.73 per game) and fifth in goals for (3.27). Six skaters have recorded at least 20 points this season, and center Sebastian Aho leads the way with 11 goals and 18 assists. Fellow center Seth Jarvis has amassed 19 goals and eight dishes.
The Canes are pretty much healthy. Winger Jordan Martinook (G4, A7) was set to miss Friday’s clash against the Panthers due to a lower-body injury, and he’s considered day-to-day.
The Lightning aim to stop their three-game slide
The Tampa Bay Lightning have struggled a lot lately, winning just two of their previous nine games overall (2-6-1 record). They are winless in three straight outings. During that stretch, the Bolts have lost against the New York Islanders 3-2 in a shootout, the Florida Panthers 5-2, and the Los Angeles Kings 2-1.
Last Thursday, the Lightning outshot the Kings 32-20 and blew a first-period lead. Oliver Bjorkstrand converted one of Tampa Bay’s five power-play opportunities, while Andrei Vasilevskiy gave up two goals on 20 shots. It was Vasilevskiy’s first start in two weeks, as he recovered from an undisclosed injury.
Vasilevskiy is 11-7-2 with a sharp 2.30 GAA and a .917 save percentage this season, while Jonas Johansson carries a 7-6-1 record with a 2.76 GAA and a .897 save percentage. Tampa Bay allows 2.62 goals per game (6th in the NHL) and scores 3.15 goals in return (11th).
Winger Nikita Kucherov leads the way for the Bolts with 13 goals and 29 assists, while center Jake Guentzel has accounted for 15 goals and 19 assists. Kucherov and fellow winger Brandon Hagel (G18, A13) both missed the Kings game and are considered day-to-day. Defensemen Victor Hedman (A12), Erick Cernak (A4), and Emil Lilleberg (G2, A4) are all on the IR.
Hurricanes vs. Lightning Pick
Moneyline Pick for Hurricanes vs. Lightning
- Carolina Hurricanes (5 units)
The Bolts have serious injury worries. Center Anthony Cirelli (G9, A10) suffered an undisclosed injury last Thursday and is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes. With Nikita Kucherov (illness) and Hagel (upper body) already listed day-to-day, the Lightning might be quite shorthanded when the mighty Canes come to town.
As I noted, Tampa Bay misses three defensemen. Hereof, I have to go with Carolina, even though this is the back end of a back-to-back set for the Hurricanes. With Pyotr Kochetkov in the crease, the Hurricanes should have enough weapons to outlast the Lightning.
Over/Under Pick for Hurricanes vs. Lightning
- Under 5.5 (5 units)
The Hurricanes are second in the league in shots taken and 24th in shooting percentage. I expect them to dominate the injury-depleted Lightning, but the Hurricanes should not score a lot of goals if the Bolts start Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes.
We’ll see a couple of top-notch goaltenders in this game. Both teams have struggled to score with the man advantage this season, so I have to take the under on the total. Six of the previous seven meetings between Carolina and Tampa Bay have produced five or fewer goals in total.
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