NHL Knowledge
Tampa Bay-Pittsburgh
Lightning won four of last five road games; four of those five went overtime. Home teams are 96-69 all-time in NHL Game 7's, 2-2 this year. Under is 7-2 in last nine Game 7's. Road teams are 4-2 in this series. Lightning won seven of last 11 games with Penguins, winning three of its last four visits here, but lost home game Tuesday to clinch series. Over is 11-1-1 in last 13 series games. Pittsburgh is 4-4 in its last 11 games, losing two of last three at home.
Playoffs tally: 1st round-- Home: 23-24, Over: 16-17-14
2nd round-- Home: 16-9, Over: 11-5-9
Conference finals-- Home 5-7, Over 7-4-1
Armadillosports.com
Game 7 - Lightning at Penguins
VegasInsider.com
The Penguins and Lightning will meet in a decisive Game 7 on Thursday from Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Penguins stayed alive by routing the Lightning in Game 6 as minus-140 road favorites, 5-2 to pick up their second road victory of the series.
Including that result, the home team has won just two of the first six games in this best-of-seven matchup.
The last time the Lightning and Penguins hooked up for a Game 7 in the playoffs came in the opening round of the 2011 postseason. Tampa Bay edged Pittsburgh, 1-0 as plus-115 road underdogs to capture that series before getting knocked out in the conference finals by Washington.
Oddsmakers opened Pittsburgh as a minus-200 favorite while Tampa Bay is a plus-170 underdog. The total on this game is sitting at 5.5 and shaded to the ‘under’ (-125).
Road teams have gone 41-41 in this year’s NHL playoffs and visitors have fared very well historically in the Stanley Cup postseason.
There have been 165 all-time Game 7’s in the NHL Playoffs and the home squad owns a 96-69 (58.1%) record, which includes a 2-2 record in this year’s postseason.
Recent Game 7 History
Tampa Bay
2015 Conference Finals - Beat Rangers on road 2-0
2015 Conference Quarterfinals - Beat Red Wings at home 2-0
Pittsburgh
2014 Conference Semifinals - Lost to Rangers at home 2-1
2011 Conference Quarterfinals - Lost to Lightning at home 1-0
The winning team in five of the last nine Game 7's scored just two goals, as five of those games finished under the total.
NHL Game 7 Playoff History (2012-2016)
2016
Nashville Predators 0 at San Jose Sharks 5
St. Louis Blues 6 at Dallas Stars 1
Nashville Predators 2 at Anaheim Ducks 1
Chicago Blackhawks 2 at St. Louis Blues 3
2015
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 at New York Rangers 0
Chicago Blackhawks 5 at Anaheim Ducks 3
New York Rangers 2 at Washington Capitals 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 2 at Detroit Red Wings 0
Washington Capitals 2 at New York Islanders 1
2014
Los Angeles Kings 5 at Chicago Blackhawks 4 (OT)
Los Angeles Kings 6 at Anaheim Ducks 2
Montreal Canadiens 3 at Boston Bruins 1
New York Rangers 2 at Pittsburgh Penguins 1
Philadelphia Flyers 3 at New York Rangers 4
Minnesota Wild 5 at Colorado Avalanche 4
Los Angeles Kings 5 at San Jose Sharks 1
2013
New York Rangers 5 at Washington Capitals 0
Toronto Maple Leafs 4 at Boston Bruins 5 (OT)
Detroit Red Wings 3 at Anaheim Ducks 2
Detroit Red Wings 1 at Chicago Blackhawks 2 (OT)
San Jose Sharks 1 at Los Angeles Kings 2
2012
Ottawa Senators 1 at New York Rangers 2
Washington Capitals 2 at Boston Bruins 1 (OT)
New Jersey Devils 3 at Florida Panthers 2 (2OT)
Washington Capitals 1 at New York Rangers 2
Thursday's NHL Conference Finals Game 7 Betting Preview
By Covers.com
Tampa Bay Lightning at Pittsburgh Penguins (A: +170, H: -200, O/U: 5.5)
The Tampa Bay Lightning attempt to take the same route they encountered last year on the way to the Stanley Cup Finals when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for a deciding Game 7 on Thursday. The Lightning lost at home to the New York Rangers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals in 2015 before winning on the road three days later as the franchise improved to 5-1 in Game 7s.
Brian Boyle said Tampa Bay must regroup and fellow forward Ryan Callahan reiterated the team’s confidence while Lightning coach Jon Cooper told reporters after Tuesday’s 5-2 loss: “They volleyed the ball into our court. Now it’s time for us to smash it back.” Tampa Bay, which is 5-2 on the road in the postseason and 2-1 at Pittsburgh in this series, was credited with 17 giveaways in Game 6 as the Penguins fed off their pressure and received a goal and an assist each from captain Sidney Crosby and Nick Bonino. Pittsburgh will try to reach the finals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2008-09, when it won two Game 7s along the way. “You go through different experiences, and realize how hard it is to get these kinds of opportunities,” Crosby said. “As a group, we’ve been through a lot, and we want to make the most of it.”
PROBABLE GOALIES:
Lightning - Andrei Vasilevskiy (W/L: 3-3, GAA: 2.88, SAVE %: .913)
Penguins - Matthew Murray (W/L: 10-4, GAA: 2.30, SAVE %: .926)
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (57-35-6, 41-11 O/U): Defenseman Victor Hedman, along with forwards Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov, had a combined minus-11 rating in Game 6 as three of Tampa Bay’s top players typified an uncharacteristic defensive effort. “We had some breakdowns,” Cooper told reporters. “If we’re going to advance, playing defense is going to have to be our mandate.” Kucherov leads the team with 11 goals and 19 points while the 6-foot-7 Boyle, who scored twice Tuesday to give him a career-high five tallies in the playoffs, is slated to play his 100th postseason game on Thursday.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (59-30-10, 45-36 O/U): Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan went back to Matt Murray in net Tuesday and the rookie rewarded him with 28 saves for his 10th victory of the playoffs. “He has a demeanor back there, a calming effect on the group in front of him,” Sullivan told reporters of Murray, who turned 22 on Wednesday. “I think his performance speaks for itself. He’s been thrown into a tough situation, and he’s handled it extremely well.” Phil Kessel notched his sixth goal in seven games Tuesday and leads the team with 18 points in the postseason – three better than Crosby and Bonino.
TRENDS:
* Lightning are 5-1 in their last 6 road games.
* Penguins are 10-2 in their last 12 Thursday games.
* Under is 6-0-1 in Lightning last 7 following a home loss of 3 or more goals.
* Over is 6-0 in Penguins last 6 after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game.
* Over is 21-4-3 in the last 28 meetings.
CONSENSUS: At the time of publication the Penguins are picking up 71 percent of the moneyline wagers for Game 7. When you look at the total picks, Over 5.5 is grabbing 59 percent of the action.
TAMPA BAY (57-35-0-6, 120 pts.) at PITTSBURGH (59-30-0-10, 128 pts.) - 5/26/2016, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
PITTSBURGH is 59-40 ATS (+14.1 Units) in all games this season.
PITTSBURGH is 41-21 ATS (+6.7 Units) second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 39-21 ATS (+10.3 Units) second half of the season this season.
TAMPA BAY is 34-14 ATS (+14.9 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 31-13 ATS (+14.6 Units) after a loss by 2 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
TAMPA BAY is 203-212 ATS (+452.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the second half of the season since 1996.
PITTSBURGH is 30-33 ATS (-18.4 Units) after scoring 4 goals or more in their previous game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
TAMPA BAY is 7-8 (+0.6 Units) against the spread versus PITTSBURGH over the last 3 seasons
PITTSBURGH is 8-7-0 straight up against TAMPA BAY over the last 3 seasons
12 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+10.1 Units)
TAMPA BAY vs. PITTSBURGH
Tampa Bay is 3-8 SU in its last 11 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 18 of Tampa Bay's last 21 games when playing Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games when playing Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 18 of Pittsburgh's last 21 games when playing Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay: 10-0 SU off a home loss by 2 goals or more
Pittsburgh: 27-35 SU after playing a game where 7 or more total goals were scored