The Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1) and Pittsburgh Penguins (1-0) clash in a Saturday showdown at PPG Paints Arena. The opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Lightning vs. Penguins, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
Tampa Bay is playing the back half of a back-to-back as the Lightning downed the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 Friday. The Bolts got 2 goals from C Steven Stamkos and a solid outing from G Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes.
The Penguins routed the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 Thursday night. Pittsburgh outshot Arizona 53-28 and had puck-possession stats to match. Last season, the Pens went 2-1 against the Bolts, outscoring them 12-8.
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Lightning at Penguins odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:50 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Lightning +133 (bet $100 to win $133) | Penguins -165 (bet $165 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Lightning +1.5 (-180) | Penguins -1.5 (+145)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +105 | U: -130)
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Lightning at Penguins projected goalies
Brian Elliott (2021-22: 11-4-3, 2.43 GAA, .912 SV%) vs. Tristan Jarry (1-0-0, 2.02 GAA, .929 SV%)
Elliott is making his 1st start of the season. The now-37-year-old played well down the stretch last season, logging a .923 SV% over his last 9 games.
Jarry started the Pens’ opener and stopped 26-of-28 shots against the Coyotes. The 2 goals he allowed were of the power-play variety. Jarry won 34 games and logged a .919 SV% last season. He has been a fast starter in past seasons (.930 SV% in October games) and has been solid at home (.920 SV% career).
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Lightning at Penguins picks and predictions
Prediction
Penguins 4, Lightning 2
Moneyline
Tampa Bay was tremendous in the back half of 2-in-2’s last season. The Lightning went 10-0-2 in the second games. But there has been some turnover that this 2022-23 edition of Bolts hockey will have to deal with in the season’s first few weeks especially. This is a different group, especially on the blue line in front of Brian Elliott making his season debut.
The goaltending edge goes to the Pens. And Pittsburgh is the more rested team and one that played Tampa tough last year.
TAKE PITTSBURGH (-165). The price has been steamed up this morning after Elliott was announced, but it’s right at the borderline.
Puck line/Against the spread
PASS. Lots of juice chipping away at the Pittsburgh lean.
Over/Under
Consider a live bet here after the puck drops. If the number gets down to Over 5.5 (+100) a few minutes in, that’s your time to strike. Pittsburgh scored 6 in its season opener and faces a backup tendy. So that should be a good spot to get in.
PASS.
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