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Lightning vs Blue Jackets 2019 Stanley Cup Odds & Game 4 Preview

Written by on April 16, 2019

NHL News and Betting Previews| Xbet.ag

Did you know that, in the storied history of the National Hockey League, only eight teams who have won the President’s Trophy (for the best record in the regular season) have gone on to win the Stanley Cup at the end of the playoffs. Tampa Bay Lightning ran away with the standings this season, breezing to a President’s Trophy — and now they find themselves on the brink of elimination in the first round, down 3-0 to the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that has never won a postseason series and that snagged the second wild card in the Eastern Conference in the last days of the regular season. On Sunday, Columbus won Game 3, 3-1, taking the lead in the second period and then weathering a 17-shot storm in the third period, seeing a 2-0 lead get cut in half but then burying an empty-netter in the last minute of regulation to seal the win. Can Columbus sweep the President’s Trophy winners out of the playoffs? Or will Tampa Bay mount an historic comeback? We have your Stanley Cup Playoffs sports betting preview right here.

Lightning vs Blue Jackets 2019 Stanley Cup Odds & Game 4 Preview

 

 Why should you bet on Tampa Bay?

 Tampa Bay posted 128 points in the regular season. Columbus posted 98. Tampa Bay won 62 of 82 games, while Columbus won 47 of 82. The immense talent differential that Tampa

Bay boasts should take over this series, particularly in an elimination game that would provide a most humiliating end for the Lightning if they head home the victims of a four-game sweep to the last playoff qualifier in the East. The intangibles are on the Lightning’s side if you consider the factors involved with playing for your season.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has played much better in net during the regular season than he has so far in this postseason, and the Lightning need to come out and stand on his head in the early going, delivering some big saves and sending Tampa Bay the other way. There is the temptation to shift lines and make major changes after three straight losses, but the Lightning will be better served by bringing the same approach that has served them rather than panicking. If you like Tampa Bay, you see them restoring order to the series and perhaps not winning four straight but at least sending the series back to Florida, where anything can happen.

Team Statistics

Offense
  • Goals: 3.88
  • Shots: 31.79
  • PP/PK Percentage: 27.82
Defense
  • Goals: 2.75
  • Shots: 31.95
  • PP/PK Percentage: 16.00

Why should you put your money on Columbus?

Momentum is a powerful force in the Stanley Cup playoffs, and no goalie in this postseason is hotter than Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 30 of 31 shots, including 16 of 17 in the third period, to deliver the win. Andrei Vasilevskiy was not much worse in net for Tampa Bay, permitting two goals on 29 shots, but he ended up taking another loss. Columbus has now won 10 of 11 games overall, and six of the last seven at home. Tampa Bay has won six of the last eight meetings between these teams in Columbus, but momentum is on the Blue Jackets’ side right now.

If you look at the nine periods that have been played so far in this series, Columbus has dominated all but the first period of the season opener. They have backchecked to keep the pressure off Bobrovsky, and they have swept away rebounds when they have come off shots. They have taken advantage of Tampa Bay mistakes in the back end — and this is a Lightning team coming off a largely flawless regular season. I expect Tampa Bay to come out in full desperation mode, in this one, but if you like the Blue Jackets here, you see them taking advantage of that desperation and putting Tampa Bay mistakes into the Tampa Bay net.

Team Statistics

Offense
  • Goals: 3.18
  • Shots: 31.45
  • PP/PK Percentage: 16.59
Defense
  • Goals: 2.79
  • Shots: 29.44
  • PP/PK Percentage: 14.63

Lightning vs Blue Jackets NHL Betting Trends

  • Tampa Bay is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games
  • Tampa Bay is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
  • Tampa Bay is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
  • Columbus is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 games
  • Columbus is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Columbus’s last 20 games

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I like the patient approach Columbus has brought to this series, as they are the team here with nothing to lose. All the pressure is on Tampa Bay to deliver, and Columbus is enjoying the fruits of that pressure. I do see Tampa Bay coming back to beat Columbus on the road, 3-2.

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