Aves vs. Lightning Game 3 Prediction
After they were throttled in Game 2 on Saturday night, are the Lightning a good bet to rebound in Game 3 on Monday night when they host the Aves at 8:00 p.m. ET in the Stanley Cup Final?
Game Snapshot
025 Colorado Avalanche (-110) at 026 Tampa Bay Lightning (-110); o/u 6
8:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, June 18, 2022
Colorado Avalanche DFS Spin
Coach Jared Bednar remains hopeful that Nazem Kadri (hand) will be available to play at some point in the Stanley Cup Final. However, Bednar is not sure if Kadri will be available to play in Games 3 or 4 of the series when it shifts to Tampa Bay. Kadri will accompany the team on the road. He has been back skating and puck handling, but he hasn’t been practicing nor shooting yet. Kadri has been sidelined since June 4 and he is still recovering from thumb surgery. Colorado won the first two games of the series on home ice.
Tampa Bay Lightning DFS Spin
Coach Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning are not panicking after getting blown out by Colorado in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final by a 7-0 score. “There’s a lot of time between the series and games and you focus a little too much on the opponent. Maybe you have to circle back and focus a little bit more on yourself,” said Cooper on Sunday. “Why are you in this situation? What put you here? That’s something we have to do…we have to control what we are going to do and we haven’t done that. I think I said this after the Rangers series. It is not an ideal situation we are in but it’s not insurmountable.” Colorado won the first two games of the series on home ice and the Lightning will look to rebound in their own barn, starting with Game 3 on Monday.
Avalanche vs. Lightning Game 3 Betting Prediction
The Avalanche are now 4-1 in their last five meetings versus the Lightning, while the road team is 9-4 in the last 13 meetings despite Tampa dropping both games in Colorado to open the series. The Aves are also now 57-19 in their last 76 games overall, are 37-14 in their last 51 games versus Atlantic opponents and are 23-9 in their last 32 road games. While the Lightning are usually a good bet to rebound (see the Eastern Conference Finals when they fell behind the Rangers 2-0), they also looked completely overmatched in Game 2 on Saturday night. Honestly, they looked like they didn’t belong on the same ice. Perhaps their reign of terror on the NHL is coming to an end.
2021-22 NHL STANLEY CUP FINAL PREDICTION: COLORADO AVALANCHE -110
