NHL Betting Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game 3 Odds

The Tampa Bay Lightning nearly brought a 2-0 series lead back home Wednesday for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final, but Sidney Crosby made sure the Pittsburgh Penguins evened it up by scoring the game-winning goal for a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 2 on Monday.

Crosby tallied his first goal since the first round and recorded his first ever in OT during the playoffs. The Pens now head to Tampa as -130 road favorites (bet $130 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for Game 3.

Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop suffered a lower-body injury in Game 1 and missed Game 2, giving backup Andrei Vasilevskiy the opportunity to start in the playoffs for the first time since losing Game 4 of last year’s Stanley Cup Final 2-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Vasilevskiy turned in an outstanding effort in Game 2 at Pittsburgh despite taking the loss, stopping 38 of the 41 shots he faced. Bishop is expected to return at some point during the series, Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper told reporters. But until then, Vasilevskiy will continue to be counted on to play well between the pipes.

Bishop is not the only player who would give the Lightning a boost as they try to get back to the Stanley Cup Final. The defending Eastern Conference champions are also hoping center Steven Stamkos will return to the ice after undergoing surgery to remove a blood clot.

Stamkos has been out of action since March 31 after scoring 64 points (36 goals and 28 assists) in 77 games to rank second on the team behind Nikita Kucherov with 66. Kucherov leads Tampa Bay with nine goals in the postseason so far.

The Penguins fell 3-1 in Game 1 but got off to a fast start in Game 2, leading 2-0 halfway through the first period with goals from Matt Cullen and Phil Kessel before the Lightning struck back with two of their own prior to the second.

Kessel notched his sixth goal to increase his team-leading playoff point total to 14, two more than Crosby.

That high-scoring first period helped the total push on five, with the over now holding a 14-2-1 edge in their past 17 meetings, according to the Odds Shark NHL Database.