TAMPA BAY +135 over Chicago (SIA)
We cannot overstate enough how impressive the Blackhawks are but you already know that. They are going to be tough as shoe leather to beat and if they win the Cup it would not surprise anyone. It is a grueling path to get here and Chicago didn’t limp into the Stanley Cup finals. No team does. They defeated Nashville, Minnesota and Anaheim and earned every inch of it. Chicago also brings a stronger résumé than the Lightning. In fact, this is the Blackhawks third trip to the finals in the past six seasons and once they got to this point, they could not be beat. The core players from those two Cup winners are still with the team. There’s the dynamic duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. There’s Marion Hossa, who will be playing in his fifth Cup Final in the past eight years. There’s Andrew Shaw, one of those invaluable role players that always impacts games and that is needed to win the most heralded prize in sports. Finally, there’s Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Duncan Keith on defense. All the experts can’t talk enough about the remarkable experience that favors the ‘Hawks and we’re not about to dispute that.
Stopping the Blackhawks is as tough as it gets but for Chicago, stopping the Lightning is just as tough and perhaps more so. The Bolts are as an impressive an offense as this league has seen since the days of Gretzky, Kurri and Messier. In addition to having stud Steven Stamkos playing on a line with the always dangerous Alex Killorn and the clever and skilled Valtteri Filppula, the Bolts array of explosive forwards does not stop there. The young ‘Triplets Line’ of Tyler Johnson, Andrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov has accounting for 55 points combined in Tampa’s 20 post-season games played to date. That is the most by any line in the playoffs. The deeper the Bolts went into the playoffs, the better their offense was. Let’s also not ignore that the Lightning scored most of those goals against Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist. They also advanced by winning at three of the toughest buildings in the NHL in Detroit, Montreal and Madison Square in New York. That’s three Original Six teams and now the Bolts will play their fourth Original Six team.
We’re not going to say that the Bolts have an edge on offense but let’s call it a saw off for argument sake. Let’s also call the goaltending a saw off because that’s precisely what it is. That leaves us with a very even series until we get to the defense. Chicago’s core defense of Seabrook, Hjalmarsson and Keith has been covering for a severe lack of depth this entire NHL season and even more so into the playoffs. There’s a good chance it catches up to them here. The same can’t be said for the Bolts. Banged up for much of the year, a healthy defensive corps arrived just in time for the post season. Adding veteran defensemen Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn, the Bolts upgraded their backline, affording Victor Hedman to be most effective with his offensive style. Tampa Bay really never allowed the Rangers offense to get going. The Lightning players stood up at the blue-line and never allowed the Rangers (the second highest scoring team during the regular season) to get into any kind of flow whatsoever. Seven deep and playing outstanding hockey throughout the playoffs, defense is where we see the difference. Chicago has allowed three goals or more in 10 of 17 playoff games. TB has allowed three goals or more 7 times in 20 playoff games.
This series is NHL hockey at its best. It’s a shame it’s played in June to less interest that it would have if it were played in early to mid-May but it is what it is. That said, we must stick to playing value and in this case the Bolts have home ice, where they went a league best 32-8-1 during the regular season. Furthermore, Tampa is 7-3 on the road in the playoffs while the Blackhawks are just 5-4. Perhaps Chicago’s popularity has influenced this line or perhaps its experience has as well. However, in this year’s playoffs, the Bolts have gained a ton of experience by winning two game 7’s, which includes one in New York where the Rangers have never lost a game 7 before. We’re all about value and if we’re sticking to that philosophy here, the Lightning has to get our money.
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ENJOY and best of luck.
We cannot overstate enough how impressive the Blackhawks are but you already know that. They are going to be tough as shoe leather to beat and if they win the Cup it would not surprise anyone. It is a grueling path to get here and Chicago didn’t limp into the Stanley Cup finals. No team does. They defeated Nashville, Minnesota and Anaheim and earned every inch of it. Chicago also brings a stronger résumé than the Lightning. In fact, this is the Blackhawks third trip to the finals in the past six seasons and once they got to this point, they could not be beat. The core players from those two Cup winners are still with the team. There’s the dynamic duo of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. There’s Marion Hossa, who will be playing in his fifth Cup Final in the past eight years. There’s Andrew Shaw, one of those invaluable role players that always impacts games and that is needed to win the most heralded prize in sports. Finally, there’s Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Duncan Keith on defense. All the experts can’t talk enough about the remarkable experience that favors the ‘Hawks and we’re not about to dispute that.
Stopping the Blackhawks is as tough as it gets but for Chicago, stopping the Lightning is just as tough and perhaps more so. The Bolts are as an impressive an offense as this league has seen since the days of Gretzky, Kurri and Messier. In addition to having stud Steven Stamkos playing on a line with the always dangerous Alex Killorn and the clever and skilled Valtteri Filppula, the Bolts array of explosive forwards does not stop there. The young ‘Triplets Line’ of Tyler Johnson, Andrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov has accounting for 55 points combined in Tampa’s 20 post-season games played to date. That is the most by any line in the playoffs. The deeper the Bolts went into the playoffs, the better their offense was. Let’s also not ignore that the Lightning scored most of those goals against Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist. They also advanced by winning at three of the toughest buildings in the NHL in Detroit, Montreal and Madison Square in New York. That’s three Original Six teams and now the Bolts will play their fourth Original Six team.
We’re not going to say that the Bolts have an edge on offense but let’s call it a saw off for argument sake. Let’s also call the goaltending a saw off because that’s precisely what it is. That leaves us with a very even series until we get to the defense. Chicago’s core defense of Seabrook, Hjalmarsson and Keith has been covering for a severe lack of depth this entire NHL season and even more so into the playoffs. There’s a good chance it catches up to them here. The same can’t be said for the Bolts. Banged up for much of the year, a healthy defensive corps arrived just in time for the post season. Adding veteran defensemen Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn, the Bolts upgraded their backline, affording Victor Hedman to be most effective with his offensive style. Tampa Bay really never allowed the Rangers offense to get going. The Lightning players stood up at the blue-line and never allowed the Rangers (the second highest scoring team during the regular season) to get into any kind of flow whatsoever. Seven deep and playing outstanding hockey throughout the playoffs, defense is where we see the difference. Chicago has allowed three goals or more in 10 of 17 playoff games. TB has allowed three goals or more 7 times in 20 playoff games.
This series is NHL hockey at its best. It’s a shame it’s played in June to less interest that it would have if it were played in early to mid-May but it is what it is. That said, we must stick to playing value and in this case the Bolts have home ice, where they went a league best 32-8-1 during the regular season. Furthermore, Tampa is 7-3 on the road in the playoffs while the Blackhawks are just 5-4. Perhaps Chicago’s popularity has influenced this line or perhaps its experience has as well. However, in this year’s playoffs, the Bolts have gained a ton of experience by winning two game 7’s, which includes one in New York where the Rangers have never lost a game 7 before. We’re all about value and if we’re sticking to that philosophy here, the Lightning has to get our money.
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ENJOY and best of luck.
