The National Hockey League timed the 2026 Winter Classic in Miami with the first wave of roster-reveals for the upcoming Winter Olympics. What does the NHL have for an encore? Not too much, except for the most exciting interconference clash of the season! The Tampa Bay Lightning play host to the Colorado Avalanche at 7 p.m. EST this Tuesday in a battle of conference frontrunners on sizzling hot streaks.
You won't find many underdog odds on Colorado in the near future, given the Avs' incredible 31-3-7 record at the halfway mark of the regular season. But gamblers might have gained the courage to wager against Colorado after watching the Avalanche lose 2-1 to the Florida Panthers on Sunday. The defeat ended a 10-game win streak for Denver, the club's second double-digit winning streak of the season thus far.
Colorado's captain Gabriel Landeskog was helped off the ice in Sunrise, an injury that leaves a gap at forward. Tampa's other edge is that the Lightning's trend of seven straight wins is still active. Meanwhile, the Avs must wonder whether their momentum is tapering off or if it can persist into the Olympic break.
Spread
- Lightning +1.5 (-245)
- Avalanche -1.5 (+203)
Money line
- Lightning +108
- Avalanche -113
Total
- Over 6.5 (+108)
- Under 6.5 (-122)
Note: The above data was collected on Jan. 6, 2026, and may have changed since writing.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Colorado Avalanche Betting Trends
- The Tampa Bay Lightning have won seven times in a row.
- Colorado had a 10-game winning streak snapped on Sunday.
- Tampa has defeated Colorado in five of the last seven meetings.
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Colorado Avalanche Injury Reports
Tampa Bay Lightning
- Defenseman Emil Martinsen Lilleberg is out at least two more weeks with an undisclosed injury.
- Defenseman Ryan McDonagh is questionable with an undisclosed injury.Â
- Defenseman Victor Hedman is on injured reserve with an elbow injury.
Colorado Avalanche
- Winger Gabriel Landeskog is out with an upper-body injury.
- Defenseman Devon Toews is out with an upper-body injury.
- Winger Joel Kiviranta is questionable with a lower-body injury.Â
- Winger Logan O'Connor remains on injured reserve with a hip injury.Â
- Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.Â
Tampa Bay Lightning vs Colorado Avalanche Predictions and Picks
Colorado's snipers get a pass for Sunday. There wasn't enough scoring in the Avs-Panthers game for anyone to be blamed for a quiet night. It wasn't a matter of road-trip blues for surging Colorado, for which the NHL's leading scorer, Nathan MacKinnon, had five shots while Artturi Lehkonen scored the Avs' lone tally. Scott Wedgewood saved 23 of Florida's 25 shots but was outdueled by opposing Daniil Tarasov.
Tampa Bay's fans jumped for joy at Darren Raddysh's unlikely hat trick against Ottawa. The 29-year-old playmaker scored Tampa's first hat trick by a defenseman since "Dan Boyle in 2006," according to John Buccigross on X. What's scary for Colorado is that Raddysh's career night was not a fluke. Raddysh's 12 goals and 22 assists have charged up the Bolts' transition game in the absence of D Victor Hedman. Forward Brandon Hagel, back from his injury, has points from each of the last three games.
Each team's quality of goaltending may keep the over-total-goals line and its betting price easier to digest. If that's the case in pregame, pick the high side of the O/U for a contest in which scoring feels inevitable.
