canadiens-lightning.jpg
USATSI

Three days after a thrilling Game 1, the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning square off once again, this time in a crucial Game 2 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final on Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver. In the series opener, the Avs took a 1-0 series lead with a 4-3 win in overtime. The loss was the third for Tampa Bay, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion, in Game 1 of a series in this postseason.

Opening face-off for Game 2 is set for 8 p.m. ET. Caesars Sportsbook lists Colorado as the -150 favorite (risk $150 to win $100) in the latest Avalanche vs. Lightning odds. Tampa Bay is the +130 underdog and the over-under for total goals is set at six. Before finalizing any Lightning vs. Avalanche picks, check out the NHL predictions from SportsLine's Matt Severance. 

Severance is a well-connected writer and handicapper who has worked in the industry since 2005. He is SportsLine's top NHL handicapper, going 135-71-4 in his last 210 NHL picks and returning well over $2,800 for $100 players. Anyone who has followed him is way up.

Now, he has set his sights on Avs vs. Lightning. You can visit SportsLine now to see his picks. Here are the NHL odds and betting trends for Lightning vs. Avs: 

  • Lightning vs. Avalanche money line: Colorado -150, Tampa Bay +130
  • Lightning vs. Avalanche over-under: 6 goals
  • Lightning vs. Avalanche puck line: Colorado -1.5 (+170)
  • Lightning vs. Avalanche tickets: See tickets at StubHub
  • COL: Avalanche ranks second in the NHL on the power play (31.3) in the playoffs.
  • TB: Lightning are 19-1 the last three seasons after a loss in the postseason.

Why the Avalanche can win 

Colorado has had success against Tampa Bay this season. The Avalanche are a perfect 3-0 against the Lightning, winning all three games by one goal. In the first meeting between the teams, in October, Colorado prevailed, 4-3, in a shootout in Tampa. Then, in the last regular season meeting, Gabriel Landeskog, Devon Toews and Valeri Nichushkin scored for Colorado in a 3-2 win in Denver.

In addition, the Avalanche outplayed the Lightning in Game 1 more than the final score suggests. Denver outshot Tampa Bay, 38-23, and generated more quality scoring chances and forced Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy to make tremendous saves to send the game into overtime.

Why the Lightning can win 

Tampa Bay can feel secure with Vasilevskiy in net. Though he was not particularly sharp in Game 1, the 27-year-old goaltender ranks fourth among all netminders this postseason in both goals against average (2.36) and save percentage (.926). He also has done a good job making adjustments during a series. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rangers, Vasilevskiy gave up just five goals over the final four games of the series after allowing nine in the first two.

In addition, the Lightning have a trusty playmaker in Nikita Kucherov. The 28-year-old winger is tied for third among all NHL players this postseason in points (24). Kucherov, who led the NHL in scoring in each of the last two postseasons, has scored in six straight games during which he has recorded three goals and six assists.

How to make Lightning vs. Avalanche picks

Severance has analyzed Lightning vs. Avalanche from every angle and is leaning over on the total. He's also found a critical x-factor that has him jumping all over one side of the money line. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Lightning vs. Avalanche in Game 2 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final? And which critical x-factor makes one side hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Avalanche vs. Lightning money line to jump on, all from the expert who has crushed his NHL picks, and find out.