One of the surprises so far this NHL wagering online season is the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning has been rotten the past three years but they are off to a 5-2-1 start and have been a profitable team to make an NHL bet on at Sbg global. The Lightning will get a true test on Wednesday night as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Lightning Strikes
The Lightning actually believes they can compete with Pittsburgh for the top of the Eastern Conference. That remains to be seen. The Penguins still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin while the Lightning’s best player is Steven Stamkos. The Lightning has gotten good goaltending out of Mike Smith who began the season with four wins.
Tampa Bay Injuries
The Lightning could be without left wing Simon Gagne who sat out practice on Monday and has missed the past two games with a stiff neck. He is listed as doubtful for Wednesday night. The Lightning could also be without center Dominic Moore and defenseman Brett Clark. Tampa is still without veteran defenseman Mattias Ohlund, who has missed the first seven games.
Rested Penguins
The Penguins should come out flying on Wednesday night. They have not played since Saturday when they suffered a 1-0 overtime loss to St. Louis. The Penguins last two games have gone to overtime.
Penguins 7-3 vs. Tampa
The Penguins have won seven of the last ten against Tampa Bay. The Lightning did win the last game though at Pittsburgh by a score of 2-0 last season. The Penguins are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings in Tampa Bay. The last four meetings between the two teams have gone under the NHL wagering online total. Taking a look at more trends we find that the Penguins are 8-3 in their last 11 road games but they are 0-6 in their last 6 Wednesday games. The Lightning is 8-3 in their last 11 overall but they are 6-21 in their last 27 Wednesday games. Trends for the total indicate that the
Over is 4-1 in Tampa’s last 5 overall but as we mentioned earlier, the Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings and the Under is 16-4-1 in the last 21 meetings in Tampa Bay.