Tampa Bay Lightning vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction 1/12/25 NHL Picks

The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet Sunday in NHL action from the PPG Paints Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Pittsburgh Penguins prediction.

Tampa Bay Lightning Recap

The Tampa Bay Lightning come into this game looking to bounce back from a 3-2 OT loss to the New Jersey Devils last time out to fall to 22-15-3 on the year. After this game, Tampa Bay will head on the road to take on the Boston Bruins.

Lightning Looking To Rebound

Nikita Kucherov leads the Bolts with 59 points including a team-high 18 goals and 41 assists while Brandon Hagel has 46 points with 19 goals and 27 assists and Anthony Cirelli has 34 points of his own with 18 assists. Brayden Point has 47 points with 25 goals and 22 assists while Victor Hedman has 31 points with 25 assists. Jake Guentzel also has 40 points with 21 goals and 19 assists. Andrei Vasilevskiy has gone 18-12-2 with a 2.33 GAA and a .915 save percentage while Jonas Johansson has gone 4-3-1 with a 3.32 GAA and an .898 save percentage on the year in goal for Tampa Bay.

Why the Tampa Bay Lightning will win

• The Penguins have lost each of their last five games against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Lightning have won five of their last six road games on the second leg of a back-to-back.
• The Lightning have covered the puck line in each of their last four games against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recap

The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this game looking to bounce back from a 5-0 loss at the hands of the Ottawa Senators last time out to fall to 18-18-8 on the year. After this game, Pittsburgh will welcome the Seattle Kraken to town.

Penguins Looking For Bounce Back

Evgeni Malkin has 32 points with 8 goals and 24 assists while Sidney Crosby has a team-high 47 points of his own with a team-high 12 goals and 35 assists. Rickard Rakell has 36 points with 21 goals and 15 assists and Erik Karlsson has 31 points with 4 goals and 27 assists. Bryan Rust also has 32 points with 16 goals and 16 assists. In goal for the Penguins, Joel Blomqvist has gone 3-5 with a 3.60 GAA and a .904 save percentage while Tristan Jarry has gone 8-6-4 with a 3.33 GAA and an .890 save percentage this season. Alex Nedeljkovic is also 7-7-4 with a 3.40 GAA and an .886 save percentage on the year.

Why the Pittsburgh Penguins will win

• The Penguins have won each of their last five games as home underdogs following a loss.
• The Lightning have lost four of their last five games as road favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
• The Lightning have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last 10 Sunday night games.
• The Penguins have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games as underdogs following a loss.

Total Goals Facts

• Each of the Lightning’s last six games has gone UNDER the total goals line.
• Five of the Penguins’ last six games as underdogs following a home loss have gone OVER the total goals line.

Lightning vs. Penguins Prediction

I’m on the over here. Back to back spot for both sides is far from ideal, especially when both teams top goalies got the start on Saturday so we likely see Jonas Johansson for the Bolts and I’m not sure it matters for Pittsburgh with the way the Penguins have been stinking up the joint as of late. Either way, I think we have some goals coming in this game as I don’t trust either team defensively right now, although I do lean towards the Lightning as I feel like they’re the team with more upside, I just think that the over is the better play in this game so give me the over.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Over 6.5