NHL Playoff Schedule 2016: Latest Odds, Viewing Guide and Predictions for Friday

The Tampa Bay Lightning have to turn things around in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Final playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

While they started out on a strong note by winning Game 1 in Pittsburgh, the Penguins have won the next two games and dominated Game 3 at the Amalie Arena in Tampa.

The Penguins out-skated, outshot, outworked and outplayed the Lightning on their home ice. While Tampa Bay has not had top goalie Ben Bishop since early in Game 1, the goaltending of backup Andrei Vasilevskiy has not been the problem.

The Lightning are a fast team that can score in bunches, but that ability seems to have disappeared against the Penguins.

On the other hand, Phil Kessel has been on top of his game for the Penguins, leading the team with seven goals and nine assists during the postseason. He has used his speed to find open ice and taken advantage of his opportunities.

"Phil is a guy that's probably misunderstood," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "We've really grown to appreciate what he brings to our team and helping us win.

"The biggest thing that I've grown to appreciate about Phil is how competitive he is, especially when the stakes are high."

Game	Series Standing	Time (ET)	TV	Live Stream	Prediction
Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning	Pittsburgh, 2-1	8 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC, TVAS	NHL.TV	Pittsburgh

The performance of Kessel has helped take the pressure off Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Both players have decent playoff numbers—Crosby has 13 points in 14 games, while Malkin has 10 points in 13 games—but both players went through downturns in the second-round series against Washington that extended into the Eastern Conference Final against the Lightning.

That could have caused most teams to start losing, but the Penguins were able to withstand it because Kessel, center Nick Bonino and left wing Carl Hagelin have been carrying the team.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Crosby has since responded with the game-winning goals in Games 2 and 3 of the series, and Malkin got on the board with an assist in Game 3.

The Penguins have served notice that their overall level of play—which was high to begin with—is getting better. That means the Lightning have to respond quickly.

The Lightning have plenty of speed and quickness, but they are not generating the kind of opportunities the Penguins are getting. They need more from Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Alex Killorn and Jonathan Drouin in this series.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Additionally, Victor Hedman was a huge factor in the second-round win over the New York Islanders because of his ability to contribute on the offensive end. He has been held in check by the Penguins because he has not been able to carry the puck up the ice with any consistency.

The Lightning have the weapons to square the series in Game 4, but their most productive players have not been performing at a high level.

The oddsmakers don't think that home ice is going to be a decisive factor in Game 4. According to Odds Shark, the Penguins are minus-140 favorites (bet $140 to win $100) after their dominant performance in Game 3, while Tampa Bay is plus-127 at home (bet $100 to win $127).

Prediction

We tend to agree with the oddsmakers about the outcome of Game 4.

The Penguins just have too many positive factors right now, as they did at the end of the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

They are getting solid goaltending from Matt Murray, the defense is closing the gap on nearly every Tampa Bay thrust up the ice and they are getting wonderful production on offense from Kessel and his linemates Bonino and Hagelin.

Look for the Penguins' speed, efficiency and high level of play to trump the Lightning's desperation in Game 4. Tampa Bay will come out with a strong start, but the Penguins will get the best of it by the second period and come away with a 5-3 victory.