The NHL is finally back, with two games on tonight. During the off season, the NHL signed a major deal with ESPN to broadcast most games. Personally, I believe this is a great move as it’ll give the league more exposure which it desperately needs.
The first is the Penguins against the two time Stanley Cup Champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. If Tampa Bay does manage to three-peat they would be the first team to do so in a little under forty years.
The second game is the Seattle Kraken against the Vegas Golden Knights. This is the Kraken’s inaugural season against a team who is only a few years old as well. The Knights were great in their first season, making it all the way to the Stanley Cup before losing to the Washington Capitals in 2018. They have been competitive every season so far and look continue that trend.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Tampa Bay Lightning
The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Tampa Bay for the opening game of the 2021-22 season. The Lightning are coming off back to back Stanley Cup wins, and are currently 7-1 to win it again. This will be the first time that these teams face since October 23, 2019 due to the realignment of the divisions last year.
Pittsburgh will be without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel for tonight’s game. Crosby and Guentzel should return to the lineup in a few games, while Malkin is out for a few months. Pittsburgh’s game plan tonight will be to try and slow down the Lightning’s high powered offense. If they want to have a chance in tonight’s game they’re going to have to keep it low scoring. The Penguins starting goalie hasn’t been confirmed but, it’s looking like Tristan Jarry will get the start tonight.
Tampa Bay on hand will have all of their star players in action tonight. Tampa Bay lost a few key pieces (Gourde, Coleman, Goodrow) in the off season as expected but, they were able to keep their core players. They are the current team to beat in the East and have a solid chance to make another run at the cup. Andrei Vasilevskiy will most likely get the start in net after an unbelievable playoff performance.
For tonight’s game I’m looking at backing the Tampa Bay Lightning in regulation. The moneyline has shifted from (-170) to (-245) making it unbettable. Historically, Vasilevskiy has been great against the Penguins having a 3-0-0 record with a 1.65 GAA against the Penguins in the 2019-20 season. The Penguins are a good team but are not a full strength. Tampa Bay should have a sold-out crowd for the banner raising ceremony which only adds to their advantage tonight.
Picks:
- TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING TO WIN IN REGULATION -1/2 (-175)
- Risk: 1.75 Units to win 1.00 Unit
- TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING TO WIN IN REGULATION -1 (-130)
- Risk: 1.30 Units to win 1.00 Unit
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
