The Tampa Bay Lightning are 6-1 in their last seven home games with a 5-1 home record so far in the 2016 postseason. The Lightning return home after splitting the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final in Pittsburgh to host the Penguins in Game 3.
Penguins vs. Lightning odds, NHL playoffs 2016: Tampa Bay a Game 3 home betting underdog
The NHL’s Eastern Conference Final shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 3 as the Lightning host the favored Penguins with the set knotted at 1-1.
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Tampa Bay is a +110 home underdog on Wednesday night at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Penguins are going off as a -130 favorite on the road.
The Pittsburgh Penguins entered the Eastern Final as a heavy favorites to advance to the Stanley Cup Final, but the defending Eastern champions clearly aren’t going down without a fight. Tampa Bay took a 3-0 lead in Game 1 in Pittsburgh and managed to hold on for the win despite losing starting goaltender Ben Bishop in that game.
Backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has turned aside 71 of the 75 shots he has faced this postseason for a .947 save percentage, and looks capable of holding down the net until Bishop is able to return.
The Lightning are 4-2 in their last six games as a home underdog per the OddsShark NHL Database. This is just the third time Tampa Bay has been an underdog at home since 2013.
Looking purely at final scores, the Penguins were outscored 5-4 in the first two games of this series, and they needed overtime in Game 2 to avoid falling into an 0-2 series hole. But despite the close scores, the pace of play has heavily favored the Penguins early in this series, who have averaged 38 shots per game to Tampa Bay’s 20.5 shots per game.
Pittsburgh will look to shore up on special teams as the series moves on with just one power play goal on six power play attempts and two power play goals allowed on three penalty kills. The Penguins are 3-2 on the road this postseason.
Wednesday’s total is set at five goals. The OVER is 7-1-1 in the last nine games between Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh has looked like the superior team early in this series and figures to remain a heavy favorite to come out on top. But this Lightning squad has plenty of grit and playoff experience, and at home should continue to put up a strong fight.
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