Tampa Bay and St. Louis are toiling in very different conference races. The Western Conference standings leave the door open to a Gateway City club that’s otherwise ailing at 14-15-8, due to Colorado and Dallas hoarding so many points. Tampa’s 41 points puts the Lightning in a logjam in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, despite owning a solid 19-13-3 record following Saturday’s comeback win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Bolts will try to emerge from the pack when the Blues visit at 7 p.m. EST on Monday.
Saturday’s win rescued what could’ve been a somber home stand on Channelside Drive. Tampa Bay was defeated 5-2 and 2-1 by visiting Florida and Los Angeles on Monday and Thursday, respectively, before falling behind Carolina by three goals in the weekend tilt. Dave Mishkin of NHL.com details how the Lightning “were staring at the prospect of a fifth consecutive home regulation loss,” only to manufacture five goals in 32:08 against Carolina’s goalie Pyotr Kochetkov in the 6-4 victory.
St. Louis arrives off a momentum boost of its own thanks to Saturday’s 6-2 win over the Florida Panthers, led by two goals each from forwards Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbors. The Blues’ injury list is crippling the team’s effort, however, just as Tampa’s fans celebrate Nikita Kucherov’s fast recovery from an illness.
Lightning -1.5 (+113)Blues +1.5 (-127)Over 5.5 (-113)Under 5.5 (+104)
Note: The above data was collected on Dec. 22, 2025, and may have changed since writing.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs St. Louis Blues Betting Trends Tampa Bay snapped a four-game home ice losing streak on Saturday.The Lightning have defeated the Blues in five of the last seven meetings.The Blues are averaging only 2.54 goals per game.Tampa Bay Lightning vs St. Louis Blues Injury ReportsLeft winger Brandon Hagel is on the injured reserve with an upper body injury.Defenseman Emil Lilleberg is on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.Defenseman Erik Cernak is on the injured reserve with an undisclosed injury.Defenseman Victor Hedman is on the injured reserve with an elbow injury.Center Nick Bjugstad is on the injured reserve with an upper body injury.Left winger Dylan Holloway is on the injured reserve with an ankle injury.Center Jordan Kyrou is on the injured reserve with a lower body injury.Left winger Nathan Walker is on the injured reserve with an upper body injury.Right winger Jimmy Snuggerud is on the injured reserve with a wrist injury.Center Zach Dean is out for personal reasons until January 7, 2026.Defenseman Torey Krug is out for the season with an ankle injury.Tampa Bay Lightning vs St. Louis Blues Predictions and Picks
The National Hockey League’s ban on Sudafed keeps skaters from sniffing as much as they used to. But when a player gets sick, they can only sniffle through it. Kucherov returned to tally his 43rd point of the season against the Hurricanes after missing the Kings game, which means that as bad as Brandon Hagel and Victor Hedman’s injury absences may be, the Bolts’ injury report has stiff competition from the Blues.
St. Louis is getting thinned out at forward, where there are several injury cases and not much hope for relief any time soon. Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou’s absences rob the Blues of their top-six roles, while Jimmy Snuggerud’s fresh legs are missed by an offense which ranks second-to-last in the NHL.
Tampa Bay’s depleted defense corps could offer more space to opposing forwards, but St. Louis doesn’t appear capable of two strong attacking games in a row. Pick the Lightning to cover a (-1.5) puck line.