Three close calls shape the NHL slate on October 24, with each featured matchup offering a different kind of test. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Utah Mammoth bring winning records into a cross-conference meeting, while the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators square off in an Eastern Conference game. Out west, the Minnesota Wild visit the Seattle Kraken with the model leaning toward a narrow home-ice edge.
Lightning and Mammoth bring firepower to a close call
At 7-3, Tampa Bay owns the slightly stronger record, but Utah is close behind at 7-4 and has the market’s backing. GameSim sees a near coin flip: its 200 simulations give the Lightning a 53% win probability, projecting Tampa Bay to edge Utah 4.7-4.2. That combination sets up an intriguing cross-conference game: a small model lean one way, with the listed betting favorite on the other.
Brandon Hagel is projected for 1.2 goals and 1.7 points, making him a prime candidate to drive the Lightning attack. Nikita Kucherov’s 1.1 projected assists and Jake Guentzel’s 1.0 give Tampa Bay additional playmaking options. Utah’s Nick Schmaltz leads the Mammoth projections with 0.8 goals and 1.2 points, while Clayton Keller is forecast for 0.8 assists. View the Lightning-Mammoth prediction.
Rangers-Senators: another narrow model margin
New York and Ottawa arrive with matching momentum on paper: the Rangers are 7-5, and the Senators are 7-4. The model barely separates them, projecting a 3.2-3.0 Rangers result and assigning New York a 51% chance to win. Ottawa is the listed betting favorite, so this Eastern matchup has a clear tension between the market and a simulation that gives the visitors only a slim edge.
Adam Fox is projected to contribute 1.1 assists, a playmaking line that could be central in a game forecast to stay tight. Oliver Bjorkstrand tops the Rangers’ goal projection at 0.7. For Ottawa, Tim Stutzle is projected for 0.4 goals and 0.7 assists, while Claude Giroux’s 0.5-goal projection gives the Senators another potential scoring route. See the Rangers-Senators prediction.
Seattle looks to turn a close projection into a home result
The Kraken enter at 7-4, one win ahead of Minnesota’s 6-5 record, and GameSim projects Seattle to win 3.9-3.4. Its 53% win probability points to a modest advantage rather than a runaway. Kirill Kaprizov is the headline threat for the Wild, with projections of 0.9 goals and 1.5 points; Quinn Hughes adds a potential 1.0 assists. Seattle’s Chandler Stephenson is forecast for 0.9 assists, while Berkly Catton and Matty Beniers each project for 0.5 goals. Explore the Wild-Kraken prediction.
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