As the Colorado Avalanche awaits their final opponent, the Eastern Conference Final is all tied up at two. Thanks to four goals from four different players, the Tampa Bay Lightning earned a 4-1 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 4. They’ll head back to Madison Square Garden and hope their luck is a little better this time around. This is where you’ll find everything, including team win odds, the over/under, and point spreads.
Tampa Bay Lightning (-130) vs New York Rangers (+110)
A return to the Big Apple offers the Lightning a second chance to take a series lead and put a stranglehold on the Rangers. They didn’t fare too well in Games 1 and 2, as the Rangers won both in two different ways. Thankfully for Jon Cooper, his club figured Igor Shesterkin out, but will it be enough for the remainder of the series? Like Tampa Bay’s netminder, Shesterkin also has the ability to bounce back from a tough loss.
After allowing nine goals in his first two games, Andrei Vasilevskiy returned to form in Games 3 and 4. He stopped 62 of 65 shots and looked comfortable in front of his home fans. The Lightning are tried and tested at this level in the playoffs, and they’ll feel comfortable with a slugfest of grinding hockey. If the Rangers can play their offensive game, something they do well at home, it may be worth considering putting some coins on them tonight.
Over/Under
After a blowout loss by a score of 6-2, the Lightning have kept games close and returned the favour of Game 4. Each score total following Game 1 has amounted to five goals, and that shouldn’t change too much. As the series goes further and the battles become more contested, expect the score to be tight as well.
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Take the under (under 5.5, -110) as it’s the safest bet, with both teams reverting to a defensive approach and limiting their mistakes in transition.
Game Props
Each team has traded multi-goal wins and victories by one-goal margins, so the question is, what happens now? It’s favourable for both goaltenders and defensively to play a wait-and-see approach. Controlling the puck, figuring out open lanes, and entry-zone plays will make all the difference as opposed to a run-and-gun style. The Winning Margin line has the Rangers standing tall by one goal (+300), and it feels appropriate. If you believe this one has overtime written, the prop bet provides an additional +275 to combine with.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM.
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