The Tampa Bay Lightning (33-15-5) host the Pittsburgh Penguins (33-14-5) Thursday in a battle of Eastern Conference titans at Amalie Arena. The Pens and Lightning occupy second place in the Metropolitan and Atlantic Divisions, respectively. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET. We analyze the Penguins-Lightning sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Penguins at Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Matt Murray vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Murray enters on a personal six-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 28. He stopped 29 of 32 shots in a victory over the division-leading Washington Capitals Sunday. He is 16-6-4 on the season with a .900 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average.
Vasilevskiy has won three straight games, including a 27-save effort against the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday. He is 27-9-3 with a .917 SV% and 2.53 GAA.
Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.
Penguins at Lightning: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated at 8:45 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Lightning 2, Penguins 1
Moneyline (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-182) are solid favorites at home, where they’re 16-7-2 for the season. They’re on a four-game winning streak and are 7-2-1 across their last 10 games overall. The Penguins (+150) are offering fair value as underdogs. They’re 14-9-2 on the road, 8-2-0 across their last 10 games and on a two-game winning streak.
Tampa Bay claimed a 3-2 victory at home Oct. 23 in the first head-to-head meeting of the season. The Lightning should be the play once again.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Lightning to win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns a profit of $5.50.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The PENGUINS (+1.5, -175) will be the play on the puck line to lose by no more than 1 goal or to win outright, and it helps hedge against the pick of the Lightning on the moneyline. Pittsburgh is 25-27 against the spread overall but 14-11 on the road. Tampa Bay is 22-31 ATS overall and 10-15 at home. We’re looking for a result very close to the season’s first meeting between the two.
Over/Under (O/U)
We’re going to go with the alternate goal projection and back the UNDER 5.5 (+135). The primary total is set high at 6.5 with the Under paying out at just -149 odds. The Lightning are 3-5-2 against the Over/Under across their last 10 games, and while Pittsburgh is 7-3 over the same stretch, the two teams combined for just 5 goals the first time around this season. Both goalies are in top form.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 205-192
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=2059]