Tampa Bay came into the postseason as the fifth seed in the East and at 20/1 nhl odds to win the Stanley Cup. It enters this series at 7/2 to win it all. The Lightning were pushed to the brink by Pittsburgh in the opening round after falling behind three games to one. They rallied with three straight wins including a 1-0 thriller in Game 7 as a 115 road underdog.
Tampa’s conference semifinal series against top seeded Washington was never in doubt after completely outplaying the Capitals in a four-game sweep. The Lightning are 2-2 as a favorite in the postseason, but a deadly 6-1 as an underdog. They are averaging 3.46 goals a game and giving up just 2.18. The total is 6-3-2 in their 11 playoff games.
Boston, who opened the playoffs as 9/1 favorites and are now listed at 5/2, also had its hands full in the first round against Montreal. That series went the full seven games as the Bruins needed a 4-3 victory in overtime in Game 7 as a 175 home favorite to advance. Three of the final four games ended in overtime with Boston winning all three.
The Bruins went on to exercise the demons of last season’s historic collapse to Philadelphia in the conference semifinals with a four-game sweep this time around. Boston is 6-3 as a favorite in the playoffs and 2-0 as an underdog. It is averaging 3.36 goals a game while allowing just 2.18. The total is 6-5 in 11 postseason games.
This series has the makings of an instant classic and should go the distance with Tampa Bay coming out on top in Game 7.