NHL Playoff Betting -- Rangers Try to Force a Game 7 as They Face Lightning

  • In Charles Jay
  • Tue, May 26th, 2015 3:24:37 pm
  • By Charles Jay - Exclusive to OSGA


Can the New York Rangers pull off another coup on the road and stay alive in the Eastern Conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning? They are down three games to two in the series.


The New York Rangers realize that there is no need for them to get too nervous, even though they are trailing their Eastern Conference finals series 3-2 and have just come off a shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. That's because they got themselves out of a tougher spot in the playoff series prior to this.

Indeed, BetAnySports customers saw the Rangers escape after going down 3-1 to the Washington Capitals, and everyone who is following NHL playoff betting knows that the Broadway Blueshirts are the best road team in the league, notching 28 wins.

Of course, Tampa Bay is not exactly pulling off an upset here; they finished just five points behind New York in the overall standings and took all three regular season meetings between these squads. They have also demonstrated that not only can they beat the Rangers by simply loading up and out-gunning them (as evidenced by six goals in each of their first two victories in the series) but also by playing in a more defensive posture. The Lightning only had 22 shots on Henrik Lundqvist in Game 5, bit 6-foot-7 goaltender Ben Bishop only had to stop 26 shots himself from the Rangers to complete the shutout at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

In the NHL playoff betting odds posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports, the Lightning are slight favorites at home:

Tampa Bay Lightning -135
New York Rangers +115

Over 5 Goals -120
Under 5 Goals +100

So will one of these teams pick up the pace, after such a relatively slow-moving Game 5? The Rangers are actually hoping that Tampa Bay takes the same approach, because their feeling is that more often than not, they can win that kind of game. But not enough can be said about the way Victor Hedman and ex-Ranger Aaron Stralman have played on the back line for Jon Cooper's team.

And regardless of the pace of the action, the most dangerous guy on the ice at the moment might be Steven Stamkos, the league's second-leading goal scorer, who was actually shut out for eight straight playoff games before responding with a rush. Stamkos has now scored a goal in each of the last four contests in this series, and obviously the 25-year-old has reacted positively to Cooper switching him out of his center position over to right wing.

BetAnySports patrons need to be mindful that the Lightning have gone 6-for-19 on the power play in this series, and as Ranger forward Carl Hagelin notes, "Special teams have been a key in every game so far." They will probably continue to be, if the Rangers force a game where goals are at a premium.

This New York team went to the Stanley Cup finals last season against the Los Angeles Kings and lasted just five games, but they roared back to set franchise records for wins and points, and if they are successful winning yet another clutch game on the road (like Game 6 against the Capitals), they have a little history on their side, as they have a perfect 7-0 record in Game 7 situations at the Garden. Our guess is the the Bolts don't want to go back there.

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