Bad beat for Pitt bettors as players couldn't drain free throws

The NHL resumed and my first free play of the second half was a winner on these very Detroit Red Wings, they’d hold on for dear life in a 5-4 victory over the Panthers. But now the Wings face an entirely different animal in the Lightning, a team which entered the second half with a lead in the Eastern Conference, but which came out flat in its 4-2 loss to Carolina on Tuesday (I had the OVER in that one as one of my “official” selections); suffice it to say, I expect the home side to come in extremely focused this evening and for this determination to pay dividends for us at the end of the night. The Wings are down to their backup goaltender, Peter Mrazek is 5-0-0 over his six starts, but after posting a 1.63 GAA in his first three, the 22-year old has given up 11 goals with a 4.76 GAA in three games since. Here’s the perfect opponent to get untracked against, the Wings defensive slide is about to catch up to them here and it’s not like Tampa Bay will be intimidated whatsoever, it’s actually gunning for a franchise-best ninth consecutive home victory. And despite the setback at Carolina, note that the Bolts are still averaging a league-high 3.18 GPG. Also note, while the Wings have dominated the Lightning historically, winning 26 times in 38 all-time meetings between the clubs, Tampa has in fact taken five of the last six in the series, including two straight in front of the home town crowd. A pretty fair line in my estimation, I definitely think that the LIGHTNING are worth the price of admission in this spot. How about you, does Tampa Bay lay the hammer down, or do the Wings continue to surge?

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