NHL Lock Alert – Tumbling Tampa @ Potent Pittsburgh
The Florida Panthers who appear to be riding the wave toward the end of the regular season travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday night to take on a Penguins team that needs to win in order to hold off the hard charging New Jersey Devils for the Atlantic Division crown and ultimately the second or third seed in the Eastern Conference.
Tampa Bay Lightning (30-33-12) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (44-25-7)
7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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- The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 5th on offense, and average 3.0 goals per game. The Penguins are 16.9% on the power play and have 50 power play goals.
- The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 23rd on offense, and average 2.6 goals per game. The Lightning are 19.2% on the power play and have 57 power play goals.
- The Penguins average 3.4 goals per game at home, and give up 2.7 goals against on defense.
- The Lightning average 2.5 goals per game on the road, and give up 3.7 goals against on defense.
Tampa Bay Lightning: +210
The Tampa Bay lightning look like a team that have already packed their bags and booked their tee times. They are 4-13 in their last 17 games and have looked every bit as bad as their record indicates. The Lightning have lost two straight games including a 3-2 loss on Tuesday night in Columbus – a game in which they could only muster 18 shots on net.
There have only been a few bright spots for the Lightning this season. One has been the play of super sophomore Steven Stamkos who has 45 goals on the year and with his play lately has a legitimate shot at 50. The other has been the play of Martin St Louis who has generated 88 points on the 23rd ranked offense in the NHL. The Lightning are a terrible team and I feel no obligation to talk about them anymore.
Pittsburgh Penguins: -250
The Pittsburgh Penguins were handed a favour by the Boston Bruins who beat the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night. The Bruins win kept the Devils in second place in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Pens. It also allowed Pittsburgh to maintain the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Pittsburgh has been playing a bit above the .500 mark over their past 10 games but has won two straight going into Wednesday night’s game.
The Pittsburgh Penguins two game winning streak is a good omen for a team that has looked shaky recently. The team has been without Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, but word out of Pittsburgh is that they could return for this game – a huge boost for the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Sidney Crosby has picked up the slack, scoring two goals on Sunday and adding three assists on Saturday afternoon.
Pittsburgh has won five of the last six meetings with the Lightning including two of the three games that they have played this year. Tampa is a surprising 8-3 in their last 11 trips to Pittsburgh. Simply put, the Penguins are a superior team. This game is as close to a lock as there is in the NHL.
Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins -250
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