Tampa Bay vs Colorado, Game 5, Stanley Cup Final Betting Odds

The two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning are on the verge of seeing their title run end as they trail the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final and are sizable underdogs on the NHL odds for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final in Denver on Friday.

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When: Friday, 8 PM ET
Where: Ball Arena
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NHL Lines: Avalanche -175, Lightning +165 (total 6)

Why Bet on Tampa Bay?

The Lightning had every chance to tie this series 2-2 on Wednesday but blew an early third-period 2-1 lead and lost 3-2 in overtime to fall down 3-1 – and it’s just hard to see the two-time champs beating Colorado three times. The Lightning are trying to become the first team to win three straight championships since the New York Islanders in the 1980s.

The Lightning are going to fight until the end, though. They were down 3-2 against Toronto in Round 1 and trailed the Rangers 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Final.

“We’re still in it,” said Tampa Bay forward Pat Maroon. “Obviously, it’s a tough loss, but the good thing is we’re still playing hockey. We haven’t lost yet. It’s the first one to four wins right now. We’ve got a challenge in front of us, but if it’s one team that can do it, it’s this team.” Victor Hedman put the Lightning up 2-1 in the second period and now has 17 career Stanley Cup Final points. He passed Brad Park and Stefan Persson and moved into a tie with Allan Stanley for 11th place on the NHL’s all-time Final points list among defensemen. Hedman (2020–2022) became the sixth defenseman in NHL history to score at least one Stanley Cup Final goal in three straight seasons. Forward Anthony Cirelli’s status for Game 5 on Friday is uncertain according to coach Jon Cooper after the 24-year-old center suffered an arm injury in Game 4. Cirelli was able to finish the game and logged 23:53 of ice time in which he scored a goal on five shots. If Cirelli is unable to play, he would almost certainly be replaced by Nick Paul on the second line. Defenseman Erik Cernak (lower body) didn’t finish Game 4 and is iffy for Game 5. Cernak blocked a shot from Nathan MacKinnon on a penalty kill in the second period. Cernak went to the locker room, but he was on the bench for the third period without logging a shift. The defenseman had an assist and 7:37 of ice time Wednesday. Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed three goals on 37 shots in the Game 4 loss. Vasilevskiy was sharp but allowed a third-period goal to Andrew Cogliano before Nazem Kadri scored the overtime winner. Vasilevskiy has an .889 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s the 15th time in NHL history and first since 2016 that at least two of the first four games of the Stanley Cup Final required overtime.

Why Bet on Colorado?

With 7:58 remaining in the first overtime of Game 4, Nazem Kadri jumped onto the ice for Nathan MacKinnon, who was still roughly 30 feet away from the bench. Just like that, Kadri took a pass at the Tampa Bay blue line, dashed in, and scored the game-winning goal. It was a missed too many men on the ice penalty, but there was nothing the Lightning could do in that situation as it is not a challengeable play. It was Kadri’s first game played this series off thumb surgery. He became the ninth player in NHL history to score an overtime goal in his Stanley Cup Final debut (and first to do so in a contest that wasn’t a Game 1). Kadri’s Final debut came in his 50th career playoff game and followed 739 career regular season contests, with 561 of those coming in a Maple Leafs uniform before being acquired by the Avalanche on July 1, 2019. Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar each recorded their 20th assist of these playoffs to establish a franchise record for one postseason, surpassing Peter Stastny (19 in 1985 w/ QUE). Rantanen posted his eighth assist of the series, one shy of the official record for an entire Stanley Cup Final. He extended his point streak to eight games and is Ramtane the second player in NHL history with eight assists through the first four games in a Final. The Avalanche faced 1-0 and 2-1 deficits but emerged with their ninth comeback win of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which stands one back of the single-postseason record held by the 2009 Penguins (10). Game 4 was Colorado’s 15th third-period, comeback win of 2021-22 and fourth of the postseason (also 11 in regular season) – tied for the third-highest combined total in one season in NHL history. Darcy Kuemper stopped 37 of 39 shots in the victory. It looked like it could be another long night for Kuemper after letting up a goal to Anthony Cirelli just 36 seconds into the game. However, the 32-year-old netminder would allow just one goal in the remaining 59 minutes. In addition, Kuemper became the first goaltender in NHL history with an overtime assist in a Stanley Cup Final game and the fourth in any playoff contest. Colorado can win its third Stanley Cup when it hosts Game 5. Only one of the past six championships has been won on home ice – by Tampa Bay last year.