Playing a grueling 82-game season in the NHL just to decide the seeding order in the playoffs seems a little bit like overkill. That opinion very quickly changes when you get to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and do so with home-ice advantage in your favor. Of course, we have seen over the years that home ice doesn’t always amount to much, especially when we get to the Conference Final stage where all the teams left in the hunt are very, very good, no matter what the NHL Betting Odds might say.
Still, playing in front of your home crowd in a series decider is still a huge edge, and that is exactly what the Tampa Bay Lightning have in their back pocket as they head into Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Washington Capitals. The Caps come into this one having just dodged an elimination bullet in Game 5 of this series, where they used home ice advantage to get the 3-0 win to stay alive. The winner of this one will move on to the Stanley Cup Final to face the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Lightning came into this series having gone 5-1 at home through the opening two rounds, before losing the opening two games to the Caps. They turned what looked like a disaster into a positive by winning both games in Washington before winning Game 5 at home. It looked as though Tampa had all the momentum at that point, which makes their poor performance last time out all the more frustrating.
Washington at Tampa Game 7 NHL Betting Prediction
- When: Wednesday, May 23, 8 PM EST
- Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa Bay
- TV: NBCSN
- Radio: TuneIn
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Odds: Tampa Bay Lightning -145 (Over/Under at 5.5)
Updated 2018 Stanley Cup Odds – May 21st Edition
Recent Head to Head (Last 10 Games)
- Score: Washington Capitals 3.20 / Tampa Bay Lightning 2.70
- Shots: Washington Capitals 34.50 / Tampa Bay Lightning 25.90
- Power Play Goals: Washington Capitals 8 / Tampa Bay Lightning 10
- Number of Power Plays: Washington Capitals 26 / Tampa Bay Lightning 28
- Power Play Percentage: Washington Capitals 30.77 / Tampa Bay Lightning 35.71
- Penalty Kill Percentage: Washington Capitals 64.29 / Tampa Bay Lightning 69.23
Why bet on the Washington Capitals?
The Capitals removed a huge monkey off their back this postseason by finally getting past the Pittsburgh Penguins and into the Eastern Conference Final. It has not been what anyone would call a perfect run, but none of that really matters as long as you continue to win series and move on. It has been Alexander Ovechkin who has made the biggest impact for the Capitals during this postseason run, but credit has to go to Braden Holtby for his 24-save performance in Game 6, which resulted in a shutout, the first of the playoffs for the Capitals. While going on the road and getting a win in the postseason is never easy, the Capitals have done a great job of it this year, going 7-2 in their 9 road games. One more win on the road will have the Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final.Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.21
- Shots: 29.82
- PP/PK Percentage: 24.00
- Goals: 2.86
- Shots: 31.19
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.67
Why bet on the Tampa Bay Lightning?
The Tampa Bay Lightning have to be a little frustrated with their performance in Game 5, where they were shut out in a 3-0 loss. It’s not very often that the #1 offense in the NHL gets totally shut down, but the fact that they were only able to generate 24 shots on goal in a game that could have taken them to the Stanley Cup Final is more than a little disappointing.
The Lightning came into this series having gone 5-1 at home through the opening two rounds, before losing the opening two games to the Caps. They turned what looked like a disaster into a positive by winning both games in Washington before winning Game 5 at home. It looked as though Tampa had all the momentum at that point, which makes their poor performance last time out all the more frustrating.
Team Statistics
Offense- Goals: 3.53
- Shots: 32.09
- PP/PK Percentage: 24.85
- Goals: 2.86
- Shots: 32.62
- PP/PK Percentage: 24.28
Latest NHL Betting Trends
- Washington is 12-1 ATS in its last 13 games on the road
- Washington is 12-2 SU in its last 14 games on the road
- Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
- Tampa Bay is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 12 of Washington’s last 17 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
