New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning: Game 6 Preview
Lightning Hopes to Strike in Tampa Bay and Advance to Third-Straight Stanley Cup Finals
After falling behind 0-2 in the Eastern finals, the Tampa Bay Lightning now look like genuine Stanley Cup champions. They've roared back and won three straight games, including a 3-1 road victory in New York on Thursday night.
When the puck drops on Saturday evening in Tampa Bay, the Lightning will have the opportunity to skate into a third consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearance, and a potential trifecta of trophies that will give this feisty team the proper accolades of a modern dynasty.
However, the New York Rangers have different plans for the outcome. Indeed, each time these never-say-die Rangers have been on the verge of elimination in this year's playoffs, the men in blue have found a way to surprise the doubters and win.
If New York can upset Tampa Bay in Game 6, that will set up a winner-take-all Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
Spreads.ca lists Tampa Bay as a 1.51 favourite, which returns 2.60 (for a 1.00 wager) on New York.
The O/U is 5 goals.
Starting time for the possible elimination game for the Rangers is at 5:00 pm EST.
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Prediction (powered by Pointspreads.ca):
Tampa Bay has been the better team overall in this series and holds a big edge in Game 6 with home-ice advantage. Their playoff experience is also showing against a younger and inexperienced Rangers team.
The Lightning defence has allowed just four goals in the past three games. Given how explosive the potent Rangers had been, that's a stellar performance and shows Andrei Vasilevskiy to be the goaltender who rises to the occasion when the stakes are highest. Combine the Lightnings' current momentum with the Rangers' obvious problems on the road (just 2-8 in these playoffs), and the chalky price on the favourites appears to be justified.
Tampa Bay has only lost once at home in these playoffs and have outscored the Rangers 7-3 in the two previous games played at Amalie Arena.
As for Igor Shesterkin, the anchor goalie for the Rangers – while he owns a less-than-impressive .904 save percentage on the road compared to a .946 pct. at home. that has to be a concern here for Rangers' bettors and fans.
So, we'll take Tampa Bay to end this series in Game 6 and advance to take on the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals.
