Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Lightning vs Penguins Lines
Looking for Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins free hockey plays? NHL betting sees the Lightning taking on the Penguins on Friday March 3rd at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(29-25-8) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (38-16-8)
Date: Friday March 3rd
Time: 7:00PM
Venue: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Pittsburgh -173
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Pittsburg -1.5
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
Live NHL Odds
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With wins in five of the last seven, the Tampa Bay Lightning are keeping things interesting in the Atlantic Division and will look for two more points against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Pittsburgh, losers of four of the last six, have slipped to 3rd in the Metropolitan Division and are in need of a win to stay close to Columbus.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa has had a tough go of it this year, but a solid stretch over the last six games. With a newly acquired goaltender in Peter Budaj, the Lightning look rejuvenated and are making things happen in order to stay in the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference.
While the team has Budaj, Andrei Vasilevskiy will see the start against Pittsburgh. Vasilevskiy has had a rough season, with a record of 13-13-5 and a 2.75 goals against average.
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All things considered, the Lightning haven’t been terrible on the goals against front. The team ranks 13th in the league, giving up 174 goals in 62 games – an average of 2.81 per game.
Offensively, the team has been about as average, scoring 175 goals, or about 2.81 per game. Steven Stamkos still remains on the injured reserve list, despite resuming skating activities.
The team’s offense has been led by Nikita Kucherov.
Kucherov has 27 goals and 34 assists in 55 games this season, including six goals and six assists in his last five games.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh has an absolutely stellar offense that has had some struggles in the last few games. With just a single goal against the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, the Penguins had an unusually bad night.
The team ranks 1st in the NHL in goals this season with 214 in 62 games.
That’s an average of 3.45 goals per game.
Sidney “Sid the Kid” Crosby has had a brilliant year thus far. He leads the team with 34 goals and 33 assists, including three goals in his last five games.
Center Evgeni Malkin has been a great asset alongside. He has 26 goals and 36 assists, including two goals and an assist over his last five games.
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Despite a rough stretch recently, the Penguins are still an extremely dangerous team, relying on a mix of fast-paced, aggressive offense. When the Pens get going, the team is nearly impossible to stop.
Tampa will have to hope it can take advantage of the team’s average defense and put up some goals in order to keep this game close.
NHL Betting Trends:
- Tampa Bay is 6-3 ATS in the last nine games
- Pittsburgh is 2-4 SU in the last six games
Free Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Hockey Prediction:
Pittsburgh’s offense should bounce back from a rough stretch of games and get the W over a Lightning team that has had suspect goaltending all season.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Pittsburgh ATS
Pittsburgh has been a much better team on both sides of the ice than Tampa Bay. I like Sidney and Malkin to score here, giving Pittsburgh a comfortable lead and covering the spread.
NHL Free Score Prediction: Tampa Bay 2 – Pittsburgh 4
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