Tampa Bay vs Detroit Game 3 Hockey Playoff Odds Guide

The NHL regular season is a real grind, with each team playing 82 games just to decide who gets into the playoffs at the end of the year. There is an extra reward to be had by doing well in the regular season, and that is to get home ice advantage for at least some portion of the postseason. The Tampa Bay Lightning managed to secure that advantage for the opening round, and it looks as though it may pay dividends for them. The Lightning are facing the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, and home ice is important here because the last 10 meetings, including the first 3 games of this series, has seen the home team win. If that trend hold, Tampa will be moving on and taking one step closer to another Stanley Cup Final appearance. Of course, they could steal one in Detroit and make things even easier on themselves. You can wager on this one by visiting the MyBookie.ag NHL betting lines page.

How To Bet The Lightning Vs Red Wings NHL Playoff Odds TV & Game Info

When: Tuesday, April 19 at 7 PM EST Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit TV: NBCSN NHL Odds: TBA

Why bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning started their march to the final last season against the Red Wings, and they were able to snag a couple of road wins in that exciting 7-game series. If they can steal one on Tuesday night, they will take a 3-1 series lead, and will put themselves in a real position of power. They will have a real chance at doing that if the defense continues to play as well as it has been through the first three games of this series. They have not given up more than 2 goals in any of the game, and if it had not been for the offense sputtering in Game 3, this thing may already be as good as done. It’s hard to imagine the Lightning offense having no spark for two straight games, which makes a road win here seem quite likely.

Why bet on the Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings needed a big effort in Game 3, and they got it from their defense. After giving up 8 goals in the two games played in Tampa, Detroit were finally able to shut the Lightning down on their way to a 2-0 win. The goaltending switch made by the Red Wings definitely had the desired effect, and you have to believe that Mrazek will get the nod over Howard again on Tuesday night. Another win would put Detroit right back in this series, but unless they can find a way to generate more offense, they could be heading back to Tampa facing elimination.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

The Lightning need only hold serve on home ice in order to move on, but they don’t want to extend this series any more than they need to. I think it’ll be a close one on Tuesday night, but I like Tampa to get the all-important win. Tampa Bay Lightning 3 Detroit Red Wings 2