With the NBA season wrapped up, all of our attention is on the Stanley Cup Final from this point on.
The Colorado Avalanche have started the series with a pair of victories, including a convincing 7-0 drubbing of the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2. Colorado is now -625 to win the Stanley Cup, while Tampa Bay dropped to a +450 price to do so.
But the Lightning, who have won back-to-back Stanley Cups, have been in this situation before. They were just down 0-2 in the conference finals before rattling off four consecutive victories. Can they do it again?
Let’s take a look at the betting information at WynnBET’s online sportsbook and try to project what will transpire on the ice.
Betting Odds
Puck line: Colorado +1.5 (-270)/Tampa Bay -1.5 (+220)
Moneyline: Lightning -110/Avalanche -110
Total: 6 (Under -120)
Betting Splits
Puck Line
67.9% of tickets on Tampa Bay
63.4% of money on Tampa Bay
Moneyline
51.1% of tickets on Tampa Bay
53.8% of money on Colorado
Total
50% of tickets on Under
82.1% of money on Under
Injury Report
Colorado
Andrew Cogliano — Questionable (Upper body)
Nazem Kadri — Questionable (Upper body)
Samuel Girard — Out (Broken sternum)
Tampa Bay
Brayden Point — Game-time decision (Lower body)
Prediction
Any prediction will go better than Game 2. I had the under, and picked Tampa Bay to squeak out a narrow victory. The Lightning didn’t score a single goal, but the over still ended up cashing. So it will be difficult to do much worse than that.
The betting odds have nailed this game, because it truly should be a coin-flip now that we are on Tampa Bay’s home ice. The Avalanche are the better team, and I thought they’d ultimately win this series by at least two games. But anything can happen on one night.
Despite how bad it played out in Game 2, I’m once again going back to the Lightning well. You are going to see the best possible effort from the Bolts. I am not confident enough to bet on Tampa Bay, but I do think this is the team’s best chance to get on the scoreboard. Otherwise, the series could be over.
Prediction: Tampa Bay 3, Colorado 2
