The Tampa Bay Lightning (37-17-4) are on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (28-21-9) at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday. Both teams will be playing the second of a back-to-back. The Lightning are 3-7 without rest, while the Penguins are 2-9. Tampa Bay is coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Wings yesterday.
The Lightning committed four penalties in the game, though they held Detroit without a power play goal. Alex Killorn, Nikita Kucherov, and Brayden Point each scored once for the Lightning.
Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his first shutout of the season with an impressive 45 saves. Pittsburgh beat the Blues 3-2 (OT) yesterday. Marcus Pettersson, Bryan Rust, and Evgeni Malkin each scored once for the Penguins. Tristan Jarry was impressive in the win, making 25 saves (.925%).
HEAD TO HEAD
The Penguins won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 6-2 victory in October. Sidney Crosby led Pittsburgh with three points (1G 2A). Steven Stamkos (1G 1A) and Kucherov (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Tampa Bay. Jarry got the win, saving 34 of 36 shots (.944%).
FACING OFF
Tampa Bay is averaging 3.57 goals per game for the season, fourth in the NHL, and they are taking on a Penguins team that is allowing 3.21 goals a game (19th). Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has found the net 3.17 times a game on average, 16th in the league, and the Lightning are allowing opponents to score 2.88 goals per game (12th).
Pittsburgh averages more shots a game (33.7) than most teams in the league, ranking fifth, though the team’s 9.5% shooting percentage is 24th. With an average of 32.3 attempts, Tampa Bay ranks 11th.
Look for several power play opportunities for the Penguins, as the Lightning are averaging 4.47 penalties per game, fifth-most in the NHL.
The visitors’ 11.33 penalty minutes a game also ranks fifth-highest. The home team has been penalized 3.71 times a game (18th) for an average of 8.41 minutes (20th).
The Lightning’s 25.63% power play percentage is the second-best in the league, while the Penguins rank 14th with a conversion rate of 21.39%. When it comes to penalty killing, Tampa Bay has the league’s 12th-ranked PK% at 81.52%, while Pittsburgh is 15th at 80.11%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 83 points this season, third-most in the NHL, Kucherov is the top skater for the Lightning. He is among the league leaders with 61 assists (2nd) and has added 22 goals of his own.
In the net, Vasilevskiy (27-14-2) is Tampa Bay’s top goaltender. He has a 2.60 GAA and a .916% save percentage. Crosby leads the Penguins in scoring with 69 points. He has 25 goals and 44 assists in 58 games. Jarry (16-7-5) has the best goals against average for Pittsburgh at 2.82. He has a save percentage of .916%.
HOME AND AWAY
Tampa Bay is 15-13-1 on the road this season. Pittsburgh is looking to reverse a three-game losing run at home this season.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
TB Lightning (-120)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
