Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are set to do battle against Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena for an Eastern Conference showdown. NBC Sports Network will air the action, which gets underway at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 23.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Moneyline odds have not yet been posted for this matchup.
Pittsburgh is 6-4 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 10 regular season matches, five of its games have gone under the total, while four have gone over and none have pushed. The Pens are 2-1 SU on the road in 2019-20.
The Penguins have scored on 18.2 percent of their power play chances thus far. That’s a noticeable drop-off from last season, when they were ranked fifth in the NHL by converting on 23.8 percent of their extra-man chances. Their penalty kill has gotten stronger, however, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 80.0 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 17th overall last year) to 81.8 percent this year..
Boasting a .909 save percentage and 26.3 saves per game, Matt Murray (5-3) has been the best option in goal for Pittsburgh this season. Murray did just play last night, however, so the team may choose to rest him and go with Tristan Jarry instead (1-1 record, .941 save percentage, 1.52 goals against average).
Tampa Bay is 4-4 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through eight regular season matches, six of its games have gone over the total, while two have gone under and none have pushed. Thus far, the team is 1-1 SU as the home team.
The Lightning have killed off an impressive 70.0 percent of all penalties, a few points off from the 83.8 percent they recorded a year ago (when they were ranked fifth overall). They’ve found the net on 21.7 percent of their power plays this year after converting on 28.1 percent (ranked first in league) last season.
Andrei Vasilevskiy (28.2 saves per game) has been the top choice in goal for the Lightning. Vasilevskiy has four wins and two losses to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 3.15 goals against average and a poor .899 save percentage this year.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- The Penguins are 2-0 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Lightning are 3-2 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
- After winning six of their seven shootouts last year, the Lightning are off to a 1-0 start in shootouts this season. Pittsburgh went 2-3 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their last five games.
