Written by Graeme & Scott on Wednesday, May 9th, 2018
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The Eastern Conference finals are set, with the Tampa Bay Lightning playing the Washington Capitals.
Tampa have home advantage in the series and the first time the Capitals have made the Conference finals in 20 years.
We asked a few people who work for online sportsbooks and let’s just say many of them are cheering for the Capitals to go all the way – based on their previous history, they did NOT get much action this year in terms of futures markets.
It’s been relatively easy for Tampa to get here. They beat the Devils 4-1 in the series with their offense coming up big for most of the series and some solid defensive work at the tail end of it. They won all three home games in that series. In the next round they got thumped by the Bruins 6-2 at home but never looked back afer that – also winning the series 4-1.
It’s been a trickier journey for the Washington Capitals. They had to overcome a 2-0 deficit in games against the Columbus Blue Jackets where they managed to lose both at home. Then they had a battle against the Pittsburgh Penguins where they managed ot keep going strong and won 4-2 in that series as well.
Here’s our thoughts:
Capitals vs Lightning Series Betting Tips:
Scott: The Capitals finally beat the Penguins in the playoffs and in doing so have moved onto the conference finals for only the 3rd time in franchise history.
The Lightning lost the first game to the Bruins but then went off winning 4 straight, 3 in regulation and 1 needing OT.
This is going to be a great high scoring series. The Caps are the Caps and are capable of scoring a pile of goals any night. The Bolts lead the league in scoring in the regular season and have continued that in the postseason.
The Caps are going to have their hands full here. And if Backstrom isn’t 100% healthy when he returns then things aren’t looking good for them. The Lightning have home ice advantage and are incredibly deep. More surprising is how well their defense has been.
I want Ovechkin to win a cup but for that to happen they will need to get past the Lightning first and I don’t see that happening.
Lightning in 6 – for betting purposes we’ll go with Lightning -1.5
Canada: 2.10 Odds at Sports Interaction + $20 Free Money Line Bet.
USA: +114 Odds at BetOnline..
Everyone Else: 2.00 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(Odds correct as of 2018/05/09 1:25:51 PM EST but are subject to change.)
Graeme: This is a very intriguing series. It’s the two highest scoring teams in the playoffs with the Caps averaging 3.58 goals per game and the Lightning averarging 3.50 goals per game. Note that the Penguins scored 3.50 goals per game and the Caps beat them.
Both teams have been strong on the power play but nothing special on the penalty kill so we could see a lot of open and high scoring games.
The Backstrom injury is a concern but I’ve got go with the Capitals. Considering the performances from them, the talent they offer etc – at this stage of the season they’re just too big an underdog.
I think they won it in 6 or 7 but the odds mean I don’t have to worry about that.
Capitals to win series
Canada: 2.65 Odds at Bovada.
Everyone Else: 2.60 Odds at Bet365 (Americans: We recommend http://www.bovada.lv.
(Odds correct as of 2018/05/09 1:25:51 PM EST but are subject to change.)
