Game three of the Stanley Cup Final moves to Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay as the Colorado Avalanche, ahead 2-0 in the series, will look to take a huge 3-0 lead over the Tampa Bay Lighting. Puck drop is set for 8PM EST and will be on ABC. Oddsmakers are calling the match a stalemate with Tampa Bay slight underdogs at -109 while Colorado is a -110 favorite.
RECENT TRENDS:
Game three was all Avalanche as they shutout the Lighting 7-0. Five different players lit the lamp for the Avalanche with Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin each tallying two goals. Darcy Keumper only had to face 16 shots total while by the end of the first period, the Avalanche had already tallied 15 shots.
The Lightning lost their power in game two, only mustering 16 total shots and not generating any close chances until late in the third period. Home ice is still the Bolts friend, as they did not lose any home ice games in their previous two rounds against the Rangers and Panthers. In net, Andrei Vasilevskiy has faced 68 shots through two games, but has only saved 57 compared to Darcy Keumper who has only faced 39 shots and saved 36.
BETTING ANGLES:
For game three and it being the Stanley Cup Final, we're gonna offer you a three leg parlay to try out for the game. Take an alternate total of under 6.5 goals, the Tampa Bay Moneyline, and Ondrej Palat to get a point for a +475 parlay.
In each Tampa Bay home game since the second and third round, they have never crossed the 6.5 goal threshold at home, only going as high as six goals. The Tampa Bay moneyline is there for the same reason as the Bolts have not lost at home since round one, making Tampa Bay a near impossible place to win. Finally, Ondrej Palat has nabbed a point in ALL EIGHT Tampa Bay home games this postseason, returning home, it's time to book him to make his mark on the scoresheet.
RECENT INJURIES:
Neither team has new injuries to report.
WHY COLORADO CAN WIN:
On the road, the Avalanche will look to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Their offense is white hot, but more importantly, they have multiple scorers. From first line players like Nathan MacKinnon to third and fourth line guys like Valeri Nichushkin have been able to light the lamp so far. In net, any question marks around Darcy Keumper have started to disappear as through two games, he has only allowed three goals to a Lightning offense that smoked the Vezina finalist last round. Historically, game three has been the Av’s game too as they have never lost a game three of a Stanley Cup final, winning 3-2 in 1996 and 3-1 in 2001.
WHY TAMPA BAY CAN WIN:
This is not unfamiliar to the Bolts who last round were down 2-0 before rattling off four straight wins against the Rangers. If the Bolts want to win, Andrei Vasilevskiy needs to rediscover his form as the former Vezina winner has posted two very poor performances. If he can turn his performances around in net, it can allow the Tampa Bay offense to generate a few more chances to score on Keumper who while playing well, has yet to face a high shot volume this series. This team rides or dies by the goalie, so if the goaltending improves, so can Tampa.
BEST INDIVIDUAL BET: Ondrej Palat to Register One or More Points
