NHL Eastern Conference Finals
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Boston Bruins Game 1 Betting Preview
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Spread: Boston -1.5
Money Line:Tampa Bay +125 / Boston -145
Over/Under: 5.5
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The Tampa Bay Lightning will look to steal Game 1 on the road this Saturday in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals matchup with the Boston Bruins. Game time from the TD Garden is set for 8 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on VERSUS.
Tampa Bay needed a 1-0 victory as a 115 road underdog in Game 7 to win their first round matchup with Pittsburgh, but has been on cruise control ever since with a four-game sweep of Washington in the conference semifinals. The Lightning have been favored in just four of their 11 playoff games and are 2-2 overall. They have thrived as an underdog with a 6-1 record. The total is 6-3-2 in their 11 games.
Offensively, Tampa Bay has elevated its game in the postseason with an average of 3.46 goals a game, which is the best of any playoff team. Martin St. Louis has been a force with a team-high six goals and seven assists. Vincent LeCavalier (five goals and seven assists) and Steve Downie (two goals and 10 assist) have also come up big.
Another reason that Tampa is in the conference finals is the play of goalie Dwayne Roloson. He has played all 686 minutes of these playoffs and has a goals-against-average of 2.01 and a .941 save percentage which are both far better that his regular season 2.59 GGA and .914 save percentage. The Lightning have also been incredible against the power play with a 94.4 percent kill rate.
Boston was also tested in its first round series against Montreal. This one went seven games as well with the Bruins squeezing out a 4-3 overtime victory as a 175 home favorite to advance to the semifinals. From there they put things in overdrive with a four-game sweep of Philadelphia. The motivation in this series came from last year’s historic collapse to the Flyers in the semis after jumping out to a 3-0 series lead. Boston is 6-3 as a favorite in the playoffs and 2-0 as an underdog. The total is 6-5 in its 11 postseason games.
The Bruins’ numbers in the playoffs are almost identical to Tampa’s with3.36 goals per game while giving up just 2.18. Brad Marchand, Nathan Horton, and David Krejci have led the way with five goals each while combining for 16 assists. Patrice Bergeron, who leads the team in assists with 10, remains out of the lineup while recovering from a concussion. One area that the Bruins desperately need to improve upon is their power play. They have capitalized on just 5.4 percent of their opportunities.
Tim Thomas has been equally impressive between the pipes for Boston. He has played all 708 minutes of the postseason and has a GGA of 2.03 and a .937 save percentage. He gave up a total of just seven goals in the series against Philly.
Head-to-head, the Bruins lost the first game they played this season 3-1 as a 129 road favorite, but went on to win the next three, including both games at home. The total was evenly split 2-2 with a 5.5 goal line for all four games.
The odds makers have the Boston Bruins as a -1.5 point favorite with an over/under of 5.5.
Check out the latest NHL Hockey Odds here.
Prediction: Both teams are well rested for this game so this one should come down to the goalies. Stick with Roloson to steal the show to give Tampa Bay the early edge in the series.
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Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends:
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 7 games
- Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- Tampa Bay is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games when playing Boston
Boston Bruins Betting Trends:
- Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Boston’s last 9 games at home
- Boston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
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