Stanley Cup Game 4 Hockey Betting Preview and Game Info

There are plenty of hockey betting fans out there who believed that the Chicago Blackhawks performed a little smash and grab to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Since then, though, it has been the Tampa Bay Lightning who have got their just desserts, coming out on top in Games 2 and 3. The third game in the series, a 3-2 win for the Bolts, was huge, as it delivered home ice advantage right back to the boys in blue.

NHL Stanley Cup Game 4 Info

  This series has been absolutely brilliant to watch so far, with all 3 games decided by a single goal. In fairness, though, you have to say that it’s the Lightning who deserve to be in front, and they can actually count themselves a little unlucky to not be playing for the sweep in Game 4. That said, Chicago wasted several great opportunities to win Game 3 in front of a rabid home crowd. That trend was set early on when Marian Hossa somehow missed an open net from ten feet out with Ben Bishop nowhere to be found. A goal at that stage of the game could have put the Lightning right against the wall, but this was a night that was not meant to be for Chicago. While being 2-1 in the Final is not where anyone would want to be, the Blackhawks will surely remember that they were in the same position against the Bruins in 2013. As well as the Lightning have played to this point, they will be well aware that winning one game on the road does not win a series. There is still work to be done, and they will have to try and do it against a team that has the big game experience required to pull this series out of the fire. This is a grittier team than anyone expected, and it would have been no real surprise to anyone if they had folded after going 2-1 in the third period of Game 3. Just as it seemed the roof was going to come off the United Center, the Lightning struck back almost immediately to quiet that crowd and put some doubt in the minds of the Hawks. You could sense the momentum shift at that point, and when Cedric Paquette fired home the winner with about 3 minutes to play, that momentum shifted a little further towards Florida.

NHL Betting Trends

Game 4 has now become something of a must-win for the Chicago Blackhawks, which is a situation that would bring lesser teams to their knees. I like Chicago to even the series and bring it down to a best of 3.