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The two-time Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning have won 18 straight playoff games following a loss. That streak is on the line in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday night at the New York Rangers. The Lightning are short favorites on the NHL odds.

How to Bet Lightning at Rangers NHL Hockey Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 8 PM ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV: ESPN
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NHL Lines: Lightning -120, Rangers +110 (total 5.5)

Why Bet on Tampa Bay?

Entering Game 1 of the East Finals on Wednesday, the Lightning hadn’t played since May 23 and they looked rusty in a 6-2 loss to the Rangers.

The Lightning struggled with some poor puck play, primarily in the second period. There were failed opportunities to clear the puck out of their zone. There were some turnovers that weren’t ideal and that will have to improve in Game 2. The Bolts were in this exact situation after a 5-0 road loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the First Round.

“We’ve been in this position before and I’m confident our group is going to have a much better effort next game,” star Steven Stamkos said. “I think we know what we’ve got to be better at.”

Stamkos had a goal and factored on Ondrej Palat’s goal to record his 22nd career multi-point playoff game, tying Brayden Point and Victor Hedman for the third most in Lightning history behind Nikita Kucherov (41) and Martin St. Louis (24).

Andrei Vasilevskiy had won each of his last six games dating to Game 6 of the first round and could have set a career high for longest playoff winning streak but allowed six goals on 34 shots in Wednesday’s loss. Vasilevskiy allowed six goals after allowing just three goals in four games against Florida. The 27-year-old netminder now has a .922 save percentage in 12 playoff starts.

Hedman needs two points to record 100 career playoff points (21-77—98 in 143 GP) and can become just the 14th defenseman in NHL history to reach the mark – the last blueliner to do so was Brian Rafalski (29-71—100 in 162 GP) in 2011.

Tampa Bay is 2-0 this postseason in Game 2s and has won its last nine Game 2s going back to the 2020 Eastern Conference semifinal vs. Boston. The Lightning are 24- 10 all-time in Game 2s and 10-3 all-time in road Game 2s.

The Lightning are 18-0 in games following a loss over the last three postseasons, a streak that started with a win in an opening round robin game in the 2020 playoffs and is the longest-such streak in NHL playoff history,

Why Bet on New York?

The Rangers played one of their best games of the season in the 6-2 win over Tampa Bay in Game 1. The Rangers’ “Kid Line” was stellar as Filip Chytil (2-0—2), Alexis Lafrenière (0-2—2) and Kaapo Kakko (0-1—1) teamed up on the go-ahead goal and for five points overall to spark the home club to victory.

Chytil (22 years, 269 days) scored his sixth and seventh career playoff goals. Only four skaters in Rangers history have recorded more postseason goals before age 23: Alex Kovalev (13), Ron Duguay (11), Don Maloney (8) and Don Murdoch (8). Wednesday also marked Chytil’s third winning goal of the 2022 postseason. Chytil recorded his fifth goal in his past three games, tying Mike Gartner (5 in 3 GP in 1990) and Pentti Lund (5 in 3 GP in 1950) for the most through a three-game span by a Rangers skater in the postseason.

Defenseman Adam Fox (0-2—2) recorded his fifth multi-point game of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, trailing only Brian Leetch (9 in 1994) and Sergei Zubov (6 in 1994) for the most by a Rangers defenseman in a single postseason. Fox extended his home point streak to eight contests and surpass Mark Messier (7 GP in 1994) for the longest such run in Rangers history.

Chris Kreider scored his 33rd career playoff goal and moved within one of tying Rod Gilbert (34) for the most in Rangers history. The Rangers have scored five or more goals in three straight playoff games for the fourth time in franchise history.

Igor Shesterkin (37 saves) made at least 35 saves for the third straight game and seventh time overall in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs – the most among all goaltenders. Shesterkin extended the longest playoff home win streak by a Rangers goaltender to seven contests. That’s the longest home win streak in a playoff year since Corey Crawford with the Blackhawks in 2014.

Teams that take a 1-0 series lead in the Conference Finals/Semifinals advance to the Final 69 percent of the time (127-57), though both series winners last year lost Game 1 (MTL: 4-1 L at VGK; TBL: 2-1 L vs. NYI). When a team pulls ahead 2-0 in this round, that percentage rises to 93 percent (91-7)

Game Trends

Lightning are 4-1 in their last 5 playoff games as a favorite.
Lightning are 89-25 in their last 114 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Lightning are 40-12 in their last 52 games following a loss of 3 or more goals.
Rangers are 16-38 in their last 54 playoff games as an underdog.
Rangers are 2-6 in their last 8 games as an underdog.
Lightning are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings.