The Pittsburgh Penguins are 0-3 in their last three Game 7 appearances, all three of which came at home. The Penguins will try to snap that losing streak hosting Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning this Thursday night.
Lightning vs. Penguins 2016 Game 7 odds: Pittsburgh sits as home favorite vs. Tampa Bay
The Pittsburgh Penguins are set as the home betting favorites against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the NHL Eastern Conference Final.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh is a -200 home favorite in Thursday’s Game 7 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Lightning are going off at +170 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The Penguins went on the road and dominated against the Lightning in Game 6, outshooting the home team 26-11 in the first two periods to take a 3-0 lead into the second intermission. Pittsburgh eventually held on for a 5-2 win as Bryan Rust iced the game with a breakaway goal late in the third period.
Matt Murray was strong in his return to the net after being benched in Game 5, stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced and making some big saves down the stretch to preserve Pittsburgh’s lead.
In 29 home games since Jan. 17, the Penguins are 22-7 per the OddsShark NHL Database. The OVER is 18-6-5 over that stretch.
The Lightning put together a nice surge in the third period to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to 3-2 and put the pressure on, but it turned out to be too little, too late. Now, the Lightning are tasked with winning Game 7 on the road, but they have had plenty of success away from home in the postseason over the last two years.
Tampa Bay is 13-6 over its last 19 playoff road games including a 5-1 record in its last six road games and a 2-1 road record in this series.
Thursday’s total is set at 5.5 goals. Each of the last four games in this series have gone OVER that total.
Tampa Bay deserves credit for pushing the series this far with both Ben Bishop and Steven Stamkos out, but there are no moral victories at this stage of the season. Pittsburgh has had its share of trouble closing out series in recent years, and if the Lightning are able to jump out to an early lead, all of the pressure would be on the Penguins to respond at home.
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