While the Colorado Avalanche franchise is no stranger to playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, this group is on a new stage. The Avalanche last played for and won the Stanley Cup during the 2000-01 season. NHL betting stats show Colorado’s task in their return to the finals won’t be an easy one. Check the Lightning at Avalanche Betting Analysis below.
The Avalanche will have to take down the Tampa Bay Lightning, the best franchise in the NHL over the past five seasons. The Lightning has won the past two Stanley Cups and are once against looking like a formidable challenge for the title. Should Tampa Bay find a way to win the championship, they would become the first NHL team to win three straight championships since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s.
Last game records
The Lightning beat the New York Rangers 2-1 Saturday to win the Eastern Conference championship in six games. The Avalanche beat the Oilers 6-5 June 6 in Edmonton to sweep the Western Conference final in four games.
Matchup information
Lightning at Avalanche Betting Analysis
Tampa Bay Analysis
The Lightning is led by plenty of star power from a core of players who are used to having big moments in the postseason. Nikita Kucherov has the most playoff points in the NHL over the past three seasons. So far in this postseason, the Lightning winger has produced 23 points in Tampa Bay’s 23 playoff games.
NHL expert picks will show Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy will play a big key in this series. Colorado has made the opposing netminders it has seen this season melt, with their opponent’s goalies only producing a .886 save percentage. Vasilevskiy has seen his share of issues this postseason himself, giving up 22 goals in a seven-game series with Toronto in the first round.
Vasilevskiy, however, has recovered. He is also excellent at closing-out series, producing a 1.65 goals-against average in 23 series-clinching games in his career. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos leads Tampa Bay with nine goals in the playoffs, while left-wing Ondrej Palat has eight.
Colorado Analysis
The Avalanche moved through the playoffs as many people making NHL betting picks would have expected. Colorado has led all teams in the postseason by scoring 4.64 goals per game. Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon has led the scoring parade with 11 goals. Gabriel Landeskog is second on the team with eight postseason goals.
Having such a potent offense has helped carry Colorado through a difficult goaltending situation. Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper got hurt early in Game 1 against Edmonton and backup Pavel Francouz had to step in. Francouz is 6-0 so far this postseason, recording a 2.86 goals-against average and a save percentage of .906.
The Avalanche will be coming off a nine-day wait to play in Game 1 of the finals. Colorado swept Edmonton in the conference finals. This was the second time the Avalanche swept and an opponent — Colorado took down Nashville in four games in the first round — and will have a similar delay in-between series. Colorado beat St. Louis 3-2 in overtime of Game 1 of the second round following an eight-day break.
Updates
Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper is back to 100 percent and will be available for the finals. Colorado’s Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano both skated Sunday and the Avalanche said they aren’t ruled out yet for Game 1. Tampa Bay said center Brayden Point may play at some point during the series.
- The Lightning was 48-51 against the puckline.
- The Avalanche are 47-49 against the puckline.
- The over is 50-47 in Tampa Bay’s games this season.
- The over is 50-41 in Colorado’s games this season.
- Tampa Bay’s last five games have gone under the total.
- The over is 5-5 in the Avalanche’s last 10 games.
Lightning at Avalanche Betting Preview
NHL betting odds has Colorado -157 on the moneyline. The Lightning at +133. The over/under has been set at six.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche Betting Prediction
The Avalanche have had plenty of time to sit around and get healthy while the Lightning were locked into an intense battle with the Rangers for six games. Both teams have had extended delays during the playoffs and each had their issues with rust coming back from them. Tampa Bay swept the Panthers in the second round and then lost two straight to the Rangers after a week off.
Colorado beat St. Louis following a week-long layoff in the Western Conference semifinals but did take a few games before they looked like themselves again. In this case, the Avalanche should be supercharged by playing in front of a home crowd that hasn’t seen a finals game in two decades. This series will likely be a close one, especially with the Lightning’s willingness to get down on the ice and block shots.
However, in Game 1, Colorado will ride the wave of energy to a close victory.
How to bet Lightning at Avalanche
Bet Lightning -157.
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