Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche – Game 2 Odds and Picks
- The Colorado Avalanche have won six straight playoff games, including three on home ice
- For the third time in four series, the Tampa Bay Lightning are trailing after losing Game 1
- The Avalanche have won all three games against the Lightning by one goal
Introduction
The Tampa Bay Lightning find themselves in familiar territory, trailing after losing Game 1 on the road. It happened in the first series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the third series against the New York Rangers. Tampa Bay went on to win against Toronto in seven and against New York in six.
Now they meet the Colorado Avalanche for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Avalanche seek their first championship since 2001, which was their last Finals appearance. They now lead 1-0 after a 4-3 overtime win in which Andre Burakovsky scored the game-winner at 1:23 of overtime. It came after a scoreless third period.
The Avalanche are 13-2 in the postseason, winning Game 1 each time. Goalie Darcy Kuemper returned in net for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in the first game of the Western Conference Finals on May 31. He made 20 saves.
“We’re getting better,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters. A scary sight.
Fear not; the Lightning also lost the first game of the Finals a season ago before beating the Dallas Stars in six games. They are the two-time reigning champions. Tampa Bay saw star center Brayden Point return after suffering a lower-body injury in Game 7 of the first round, missing 10 games in total.
“The mindset is we’re here to win a series, and you don’t know when that’s going to come,” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. “Four games, five, six, seven, you never know. We’ve done a great job of making adjustments after losses. So, we’ll look to do that.”
Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche Odds
| Teams | Moneyline | Total | Goal Line |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 137 | O 6 (-101) | 1.5 (-205) |
| Colorado Avalanche | 152 | U 6 (-109) | 1.5 (+175) |
Odds courtesy of Bet Online. For the second time in as many games, the Avalanche are favorites. Using a $100 value, a bet of $152 on the Avalanche would profit $100, or a total payout of $252. Conversely, it would take a $100 bet on the Lightning to profit $137, or a total payout of $237.
With three straight one-goal games between the two, the Lightning to lose by one goal or win outright (goal line +1.5) is heavily favored. A $205 bet and hit would net a $100 profit for a total payout of $305. If the Avalanche were to win by two goals or more, a $100 bet on -1.5 would profit $175 and pay out $275.
The over/under of 6 is strategic. Two meetings have featured seven goals, while the other one featured five. A $101 bet on over six would net a profit of $100 and a total payout of $201. A $109 bet on under six would bring a profit of $100 and total payout of $209.
Using $100 is an example for math. Only bet what you can afford to lose and still meet life’s needs.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche Betting Preview
Tampa Bay Lightning Preview
Tampa Bay is not in uncharted territory. In the postseason alone, they are 4-1 after losing a game, and the lone loss was to trail 2-0 to the Rangers before winning four straight to clinch a spot in the Finals. The first two bounce-back wins were by margins of two and four goals against Toronto before the rest being one-goal games.
The Lightning sport the league’s eighth-best offense, scoring 3.5 goals per game, and the eighth-best power play, converting 23.9% of the time. In the postseason, they are scoring 3.1 goals per game.
Defensively they were better, allowing 2.8 goals per game and ranking sixth. Their penalty kill ranked 11th, killing off 80.6% of power plays. In the playoffs, they are yielding 2.5 goals per game.
The over is 7-11 in Tampa Bay’s postseason games so far this season, and they are 4-3 as moneyline underdogs during the playoffs. For the year, they are 49-51 against the spread and 51-47 on over/unders. They also are 29-19-2-1 on the road.
Colorado Avalanche Preview
Colorado has dominated its way through the postseason after a shaky slow down to end the year. Still, they regained shape and health down the stretch and have been impressive.
They are scoring 4.6 goals per game, up from their season average of 3.8, which ranked fourth in the league. They converted 24% of power play opportunities, ranking seventh.
Defensively they are allowing 2.87 goals per game, which is on par with the ninth-ranked defense for the season. They killed off 79.7% of power plays, finishing 15th.
Offense has clearly been the strong suit, and defenseman Cale Makar has been the catalyst with a team-best 22 points in the playoffs, led by 17 assists. He’s set up Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog, who all have 19 points.
In 15 playoff games, the Avalanche have not been underdogs once, going 13-2. The over is 9-6 in those contests. During the year, they are 47-50 against the spread and 51-41 on over/unders with a 38-6-3-2 home record.
Injury Report
The Lightning’s report has been cleaned up with only defenseman Brent Seabrook, a champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, out for the season with a shoulder injury.
Colorado will be without defenseman Samuel Girard, who suffered a season-ending chest injury. Listed questionable are centers Nazem Kadri (thumb) and Andrew Cogliano (hand). Neither played in the series-opening win. The same goes for defenseman Ryan Murray, who is out indefinitely with a hand injury.
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Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche Picks and Predictions
The Avalanche came out firing taking a 2-1 advantage into the second period but were slowed as the Lightning continued to make adjustments for the rest of Game 1. The moment wasn’t too big for a team playing in its first Finals in 21 years, of course, most players were preteens at that point. For a fan base, it will be as energetic as ever inside Ball Arena for a clear home ice advantage.
But gutty wins in Toronto and at Madison Square Garden in New York won’t have Tampa Bay fazed. They didn’t win a pair of Stanley Cup titles the past two years for nothing. Expect them to lean on that experience and not allow a fast start.
We’ll take the Lightning to bounce back.
The Pick: Lightning +137
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