NHL Betting Picks, Odds, And Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Pittsburgh Penguins

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s level of play has been off the charts in their last matches. And as they seek to continue their scorching streak, they will be visited by a powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday in a battle of two teams chasing for respective division supremacies.

The Lightning are second behind Boston in the Atlantic while the Penguins are in pursuit of the Capitals in the Metropolitan.

Despite getting bugged by injuries, the Penguins managed to hang tough and win eight of their last 10 games. But it seems to be insufficient to get the nod the sportsbooks as the NHL Odds show the Lightning as favorites to win the match.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning have won four straight games heading into the joust against the Penguins. The win ties the tally of the Bruins who are now just holding a seven-point edge at the top of the Atlantic Division.

Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves in Tuesday’s win against Vegas to put his total to 1,099 saves in the season. Club’s points leader Nikita Kucherov will be playing his 500th NHL game on Thursday. He has amassed a total of 63 points that include seven goals and seven assists during his personal eight-game point streak.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins pulled off a statement 4-3 win against their Metropolitan rivals Washington Capitals last Sunday. That makes it eight wins in their last 10 games to pull themselves to within three wins and six points to reach the peak of the division.

Sidney Crosby will look to add to his 29-point total of the season. He has played in seven games since returning from his surgery and has accounted for four goals and eight assists. Evgeni Malkin is expected to reassert his prowess after he notched four of his 54 total points in his last two games.

Odds and Trends

Tampa Bay is favored with a -170 money line price. Pittsburgh is pegged at +150 to win.

The Lightning are 12-3 in their last 15 games following a win and 45-14 in their last 59 Thursday games.

The Penguins are 10-1 in their last 11 vs. a team with a winning record and 7-2 in their last 9 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game.

Over is 18-7-2 in Lightning last 27 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game and 7-1 in Penguins last 8 vs. a team with a winning record.

Under is 6-1-1 in Lightning last 8 games following a win and 11-2 in Penguins last 13 Thursday games.

Prediction

Lightning 2, Penguins 3