Lightning vs Penguins Betting Line

Surprising Tampa Bay get the Winter Classic teams in back-to-back meetings when the Lightning (24-11-5, 53 pts) head to Pittsburgh to face-off with the Penguins (25-12-3, 53 pts). Pittsburgh, still stinging from the loss to Washington at Heinz Field will be looking to bounce back. The Lightning, a surprising first place team this year, will be looking to see if newly acquired goaltender Dwayne Roloson can help them make a playoff push. The Penguins are favored, at -200 at the Bodog Sportsbook. Game time is 7pm EST, Wednesday night.

Lightning at Penguins Money Line, Puck Line & Total Odds

Tampa Bay Lightning vs Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Preview

Pittsburgh has the NHL’s fifth best offense led by Sid the Kid Crosby. At 23 and a veteran of six seasons’, Sid’s no longer a Kid but a man and a force every time he is on the ice. His recent 25 game point streak was one of the longest in the NHL in recent seasons. Crosby is not alone as Evgeni Malkin has 32 points off 13 goals and 19 assists while Jordan Staal is back and looks to round into form quickly. Malkin is a hard-nosed forward whose play was limited by injuries earlier in the season. Other snipers include defenseman Kris Letang (32 points, 6 goals and 26 assists), forward Chris Kunitz (25 points), Matt Cooke and Alex Goligoski (18 points each) plus Pascal Dupuis and Mark Letestu with 17 points each.

Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik are two of the team’s top defensemen spearheading the NHL’s top penalty kill. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has posted 17 wins in 30 games and 2.28 goals against average. His save percentage is a solid 9.18. Back-up Brent Johnson has won eight of his 12 starts.

Goaltending had been a question mark so General Manager Steve Yzerman went out and acquired Dwayne Roloson over the weekend. This might mean demotion for either Dan Smith or Mike Ellis as neither posted great numbers this season with goals against averages of 3.00 or higher. Smith was respectable in goal most nights winning 10 of his 15 starts. Tampa Bay’s offense (ranked seventh in the league) had been solid enough to counteract and miscues in net. Roloson comes from the Islanders and has 2.64 goals against mark. He won only 6 of his 20 starts but was playing for the worst team in the NHL.

Offense in Tampa is manned by Steven Stamkos (56 points) and Martin St. Louis (50 points). This line combination is unstoppable this year. Ryan Malone adds in 30 points and this Lightning trio is one of the league’s best. Vincent Lecavalier has been limited to 23 games but when healthy is another scoring threat. The top blue liner in Tampa is Brett Clark but he is only a minus eight this season.

Lightning vs Penguins Free Prediction

Coming off a tough contest with Washington, Tampa Bay is going to be hard pressed to match the Penguins intensity. Look for Pittsburgh to take command and win a goal fest.

I’m taking the Penguins at -200 on the money line at the Bodog Sportsbook.