By Ryan Bologna
Remember a couple of weeks ago when we told you to not overreact to game one of a series? Turns out that was sound advice. The Lightning came back from a 2-0 deficit to win the eastern conference final against the Rangers, and the Warriors won the NBA Finals last night despite dropping game one. The Avalanche won game one of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, and we’re once again to give you some tips on how to bet the rest of this series.
Don’t Bet On A Short Series
While the Avalanche are on another level compared to the Rangers, the Lightning should not be dismissed. Once again, they will get games three and four at home in this series. The Lightning could still win even if Colorado wins game two on Saturday night. The Avalanche are one of the few teams in the league that have an argument for being more talented than the Lightning, but Tampa Bay always seems to get better the longer a series goes.
Burakovsky OT beauty and @ConorMcGahey with the narration 🤩@AltitudeSR #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/oeMtY2tdas
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 16, 2022
Andrei Vasilevskiy struggled in the first two games against the Rangers, then he gave up two goals or less in each game for the rest of the series. If you thought the Lightning were going to win before the series started, an overtime loss in game one shouldn’t change your thinking. Expect this series to go at least six games.
Take The Over Early On
As mentioned before, Vasilevskiy took a couple of games to settle in against the Rangers. The Lightning had a significant edge during five-on-five play in that series. That will not be the case against the Avalanche. Vasilevskiy will face much more offensive pressure than he did in the last round. Colorado has scored 69 goals in 15 games during these playoffs, averaging 4.6 a game.
The Lightning can adapt to a variety of playstyles. They can stifle teams defensively and win high-scoring games when needed. Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper has a save percentage below .900 in these playoffs as well, which is a big drop-off from Igor Shesterkin, who the Lightning faced last round. Colorado will get much more open ice than the Rangers did, so Tampa Bay will need to push the issue more offensively. Lean towards taking the over when betting on individual games in this series, especially early on as Vasilevskiy before Vasilevskiy settles in.
Some Player Props To Consider
Nathan MacKinnon scored one point in game one. His over/under total is set at 1.5 for game two. Consider the over as it should be another high-scoring affair and he is averaging over a point per game in these playoffs.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos did not get on the scoreboard in game one, but look for that to change in game two. His over/under point total is set at 0.5. He scored five goals in the series against the Rangers.
Photo Credit: Jai Agnish
