Bets and analysis for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the favored Avalanche and two-time defending champion Lightning.
The Avalanche has a 1-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final after earning an exciting 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1 against the Lightning.
Tampa Bay, who was down 2-0 and 3-1, tied the game at 3 after scoring twice in a span of just 48 seconds in the second period.
Forward Andre Burakovsky ended Tampa Bay’s hopes of completing the comeback when he buried the game-winning goal past Andrei Vasilevskiy 1:23 into overtime.
Colorado, who swept the Oilers in the Western Conference Final, has now won six consecutive playoff games, resulting in an impressive 13-2 record in the postseason. The Avalanche are now 6-2 at Ball Arena combined with a perfect 7-0 on the road.
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The Lightning are now 12-6 in the playoffs thanks to an impressive 7-1 mark at Amalie Arena, while owning just a pedestrian 5-5 record on the road.
Oddsmakers at SI Sportsbook have installed Colorado as -150 favorites to win Game 2, with a total goals market currently sitting at 6.5 juiced to the under at -133 odds.
Let’s dive in and take a deeper look at Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final and see where the respected early money in Vegas has arrived!
Be sure to check out our full Stanley Cup Series betting breakdown!
Bet on the Stanley Cup Final at SI Sportsbook
John Locher/AP
2022 Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Betting Odds
Tampa Bay Lightning (+125) at Colorado Avalanche (-150)
PUCK LINE: Tampa Bay +1.5 (-200) / Colorado -1.5 (+155)
TOTAL: 6.5 - Over (+105) / Under (-133)
Colorado is now 3-0 against Tampa Bay this season after winning both regular-season meetings. Goaltender Darcy Kuemper has held his own against Vasilevskiy, winning all three matchups. Kuemper stopped 20 out of 23 shots (.870 save percentage) in Game 1 and now sports a 7-2 record with a 2.68 GAA in the playoffs.
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog opened the scoring in Game 1 and later added the primary assist on the club’s third goal. Landeskog now has three goals and two assists in the three games against Tampa Bay.
Shockingly, Cale Makar, who leads the club in playoff scoring (five goals, 17 assists; 22 points), was kept off the scoring sheet but without a single registered shot on goal. The emerging defenseman, who led all players with a massive 28:50 of ice time, did make his impact on the defensive end, tying for a club-high with three blocked shots.
Forward Valeri Nichushkin (one goal, one assist), who helped stake Colorado to a 2-0 lead in the first period, led the team with six shots on goals.
John Locher/AP
On the flip side, Vasilevskiy surprisingly came out shaky by allowing two goals just nine minutes into the first period. The star goal settled down stopping 34 of 38 shots and his efforts in between the pipes was a big reason why Tampa Bay mounted its comeback and eventually send the game into the extra session.
The two-time Stanley Cup Champion has compiled a 12-6 record with a 2.36 GAA with .926 save percentage in the postseason.
Tampa Bay’s top offensive players, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, also both uncharacteristically had very quiet games. Stamkos was held off the scoring sheet after earning just three shots on goal, while Kucherov notched one assist to go along with just one shot on goal in 18 minutes of ice time.
The Lightning Bay will need more production from both star front-line players if they have any hopes of beating the powerful Avalanche in the best-of-seven series.
Colorado’s strong power-play unit, which leads all teams in the playoffs at 31.3%, remained true to form by scoring once on its three opportunities in Game 1.
Tampa Bay will need to stay out of the penalty box in Game 2 if they have any hopes of stealing a game on the road.
While neither Nazem Kadri (thumb) nor Andrew Cogliano (finger) returned to the Avalanche lineup for Game 1, Tampa Bay received a boost when star center Brayden Point returned to the lineup after missing 10 consecutive games. The team’s best two-way player will likely shake off the rust of missing nearly five weeks of game action and have more of an impact as the series moves forward.
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2022 Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Bets
The respected money from Las Vegas continues to make successful sports investments here at SI Betting. In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, we won our player proposition wagers but came up short in our investment in Tampa Bay.
The three wagers left us with a positive ROI of +1.30 units.
Colorado seems to be playing at a faster pace than any team in the postseason and at that level goes up a notch at Ball Arena. Tampa Bay went down 0-2 against the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final and they will likely be facing the same scenario after the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final.
Colorado went 10-0 at home in January, 2-2 in February, 5-2 March, 5-2 in April, 4-2 in May and is 2-0 thus far in June, making it 28-6 (82.4%) in front of the home faithful since the start of 2022. The respected money in Vegas is no longer willing to step in front of this Avalanche club at home and are laying the moderate juice in Game 2.
BET: Colorado Moneyline (-150)
Player Proposition Wagers
Mikko Rantanen - Assists Over 0.5 (-130)
- Colorado’s star forward has notched 14 assists in 15 playoff games. Rantanen has registered at least one assist in eight of the nine home postseason games, including four of the last six. The versatile winger has a knack for setting up his teammates playing on the club’s top line with Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon.
Gabriel Landeskog Plus/Minus Over 0.5 +115
- Colorado’s captain has exceeded this projection in 11 of 14 games this postseason, including seven straight games At +130 odds, he was the target of the respected money in Game 1 and cashed after finishing the contest at +1. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
Stanley Cup Final Betting (Series-to-Date): +1.30 Units
Frankie Taddeo is a successful high-stakes fantasy football player who created the first-ever DFS program ever offered in a Las Vegas sportsbook. Frankie is SI Betting's Senior Analyst and provides his significant experience and resources in the sports betting scene. You can follow Frankie on Twitter @Frankie_Fantasy for his latest betting and fantasy insights from Las Vegas.
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