Carolina Hurricanes vs Tampa Bay Lightning Prediction, Preview and Odds - 03/14/2026

Game Time: 7:00 pm ET, Saturday, March 14, 2026

Venue:  Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN+

DraftKings:  Moneyline:  Hurricanes +114, Lightning -135; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Bet365:  Moneyline:  Hurricanes +115, Lightning -135; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

BetMGM:  Moneyline:  Hurricanes +115, Lightning -135; Over/Under:  6.5 goals

Carolina Hurricanes:  41-18-6 (1st place, Metropolitan Division)

Tampa Bay Lightning:  40-20-4 (2nd place, Atlantic Division)

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Carolina Hurricanes:  7-3-0 last 10

Tampa Bay Lightning:  4-6-0 last 10

The Hurricanes are entering this game with 88 points, a 41-18-6 record overall, and they are 17-9-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a loss against the St Louis Blues in their last game, losing that one at home 3-1. Mark Jankowski scored 1 goal for them in that one and it was unassisted. Sebastian Aho led the team in shots on net in that game with 7. Brandon Bussi was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 2 goals on 16 shots with 14 saves and a .875 save percentage. Their offense has scored 230 goals this season averaging 3.5 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 190 goals against them allowing 2.9 goals per game.

The Lightning are entering this game with 84 points, a 40-20-4 record overall, and they are 20-11-0 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Detroit Red Wings in their last game, winning that one at home 4-1. Gage Goncalves and Jake Guentzel each scored 2 goals for them in that one. Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov each led the team in assists with 2 while Gage Goncalves and Jake Guentzel each led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Andrei Vasilevskiy was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 25 shots with 24 saves and a .960 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 229 goals this season averaging 3.6 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 178 goals against them allowing 2.8 goals per game.

The current betting odds have the Hurricanes listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Hurricanes have looked great in their games this season with their 41-18-6 record overall which has them right at the top of their division in the East with one of the best records in the entire NHL. They have been a great road team too with their 17-9-4 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Lightning have looked really good in their games this season with their 40-20-4 record overall which has them right near the top of their division in the East. They have looked great on home ice too with their 20-11-0 home record this season. The Lightning have been a really up and down team all season. They didn't have the strongest start to the year and didn't really surge to the top of the East until the new year, but lately they have been cooling off again and haven't looked like one of the best teams in the East. They are off a 4-1 win over the Red Wings in their last one, but they are only 4-6-0 in their last 10 games and have had a lot of trouble since coming back from the Olympic Break. The Hurricanes have been the complete opposite though, looking like one of the best teams in the East from the start of the season and continuing that out of the break too. They have been rolling lately with their 7-3-0 record in their last 10 games. They are off a home loss to the Blues in their last one though, but they will be looking to bounce back after losing on home ice to one of the worst teams in the NHL this season. The Hurricanes have looked like the much better team since coming back from the break, so look for them to bounce back here and take advantage of a Lightning team that hasn't been playing well. The best way to place a bet here is on the Hurricanes to win this game. 

Hurricanes Lightning Prediction:  Our NHL Pick for Saturday, March 14, 2026 (7:00 pm ET start time) is Hurricanes 4 Lightning 2.

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Carolina Hurricanes: 155-100 (-13.2 units) on the moneyline in all games. 146-96 (-14.7 units) on the moneyline against mistake free teams - opponents average 4 power plays/game or less. 109-76 (-23.7 units) on the moneyline against poor power play killing teams - opp score on over 17.5% of chances. 18-9 OVER when playing against a team with a winning record.

Tampa Bay Lightning: 42-25 (+5.5 units) on the moneyline as a home favorite of -200 or less. 47-26 (+13.2 units) on the moneyline revenging a same season loss vs opponent. 66-53 (+6.5 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team with a winning record. 8-3 OVER revenging a loss vs opponent as a road favorite.

Carolina Hurricanes:  S. Gostisbehere (D) Out - Lower Body. P. Kochetkov (G) Out - Hip.

Tampa Bay Lightning:  E. Cernak (D) Day To Day - Undisclosed. N. Paul (LW) Day To Day - Undisclosed. E. Lilleberg (D) Out - Face. D. James (C) Out - Leg. M. Crozier (D) Out - Abdomen.

“It was probably our best period of the year in the first period, and you’re up by one. You’re just letting a team hang around, and you know they’re going to come back a little bit. There wasn’t much after that. We didn’t generate a ton.” - Rod Brind’Amour after his team’s loss against the Blues in their game on Thursday.

"It was by no means a perfect game, but there were a lot of things to take from it besides the two points. We played with much more emotion. We skated better. We were decent at getting the puck out of our own end. We were better." - Jon Cooper after his team’s win against the Red Wings in their game on Thursday.

LW Andrei Svechnikov

C Sebastian Aho

RW Seth Jarvis

LD Jaccob Slavin

RD Jalen Chatfield

G Brandon Bussi

LW Gage Goncalves

C Brayden Point

RW Nikita Kucherov

LD Victor Hedman

RD Janis Jérôme Moser

G Andrei Vasilevskiy

Points: Sebastian Aho (66)

Goals: Seth Jarvis (28)

Assists: Sebastian Aho (43)

GAA: Brandon Bussi (2.37)

Points: Nikita Kucherov (106)

Goals: Nikita Kucherov (34)

Assists: Nikita Kucherov (72)

GAA: Andrei Vasilevskiy (2.29)

Coaches:

Carolina Hurricanes: Rod Brind'Amour (8th season)

Tampa Bay Lightning: Jon Cooper (14th season)