New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Picks and Prediction for Saturday, October 11, 2025

Get ready for an Eastern Conference NHL showdown as the New Jersey Devils, standing in eighth place of the Metropolitan Division with a 0-1-0 record, clash with the Atlantic Division’s sixth-place Tampa Bay Lightning, who bring a 0-1-0 record of their own to the ice. Set in the heart of Benchmark International Arena on October 11th at 7:00 PM ET, fans can catch the action live on ESPN+. This will be the first of three games these teams will play between one another as they will have this series wrapped up in a couple of months. Stay out of the box: NHL predictions for New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, crisp and clear.

Devils Looking for Win #1

The New Jersey Devils, positioned in last place in the Metropolitan Division with a 0-1-0 record, head into this game without a victory into this matchup. The latest game against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road 6-3 was a loss and should give them a bit of concern after allowing four goals in the third period.

Offensively, New Jersey has been doing a respectable job at finding the back of the net, averaging 3.00 goals per game, which is 13th in the sport. The Devils’ power play has not converted a singular goal thus far. Their defensive game shows they are going to be terrible, conceding an average of 6.00 goals against per game, highlighting a significant area of comfort at this point of the season.

On the goaltending front, goaltender Jacob Markstrom is going to need to step up in the net for this game and is 0-1-0 with a .844 save percentage and 5.08 goals per game given up. As New Jersey prepares to play Tampa Bay, they need to improve defensively.

Injury Report for New Jersey

• Right winger Evgenii Dadonov: Hand (Questionable)
• Center Marc McLaughlin: Undisclosed (OUT)
• Defenseman Seamus Casey: Lower Body (OUT)
• Right winger Stefan Noesen: Groin (OUT)
• Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic: Knee (OUT)
• Left winger Juho Lammikko: Undisclosed (OUT)

Ride the Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning opened against the Senators, a 5-4 loss, which reflects a team that can just struggle defensively. Center Brayden Point is leading the franchise with three points (one goal, two assists). The Lightning are playing their way through with three players on the injury report, and all of them are already ruled out for this game.

Tampa Bay’s offensive output has been stepping up thus far, with the team sitting in eighth place in the league for goals scored, averaging 4.00 goals per game. The Lightning’s power play, operating at a 66.7% success rate, and their penalty kill at 75.0%, highlight areas of the game that are a positive for the franchise.

Goaltending is one of the team’s strong suits, with Andrei Vasilevskiy

Injury Report for Tampa Bay

• Center Zemgus Girgensons: Undisclosed (OUT)
• Right winger Niko Huuhtanen: Undisclosed (OUT)
• Left winger Nick Paul: Upper Body (OUT)

New Jersey Devils vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Pick

Spread Pick for Devils vs. Lightning

• Tampa Bay Lightning -140 (5 units)

The Lightning have one of the most balanced rosters in the entire NHL as they have first- and second-team All-Stars littered throughout their roster with names like Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman to name a few. They also did not lose too many regulars from last season and coach Jon Cooper still has the ability to coach well. The Devils are hoping the injury bug is better this season as Jack Hughes has struggled to stay on the ice. While both goalies have strong track records, Vasilevskiy is the one I rather believe in to limit the amount of goals so go with the Tampa Bay Lightning to record a win in this game.

Over/Under Pick for Devils vs. Lightning

• Under 6.5 (5 units)

Expecting seven-plus goals in this game feels way too high as even though Jacob Markstrom and Andrei Vasilevskiy have gotten off to rough beginnings of the year, they have track records that prove they can stand on their head. Neither team has shown the ability to attempt many shots on goal thus far as New Jersey had 22 shots against Carolina while Tampa Bay only attempted 25 shots against Ottawa to open the year. All in all, go with under 6.5 total goals to be scored.