Preview and pick for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals

The Tampa Bay Lightning have gotten the right plays at the right time from the right people as they've gotten off to a 2-0 lead in games over the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals.

If they can win on Friday night, they will push the Habs into territory from which almost no NHL team has bounced back. Game 3 will begin at 8 PM ET at the Bell Centre, which is friendly ground for the Canadiens.

BetOnline will have plenty of props on which to wager, and don't forget that you can access "Live Betting" and keep up with all the action in real-time.

We thought this might be a series dominated by the goaltenders. Well, at least one of the goalies has been dominant. Andrei Vasilevskiy, a former Vezina winner who narrowly missed out on winning that trophy this season, is clearly demonstrating why he is considered among the elite.

Yes, we realize that Montreal is not the most explosive offensive team. But they have scored just twice in the first two games of the series, and this is both disappointing and a reflection of how good Vasilevskiy has been.

However, Montreal fans would argue that the series has been closer than the 5-1 and 3-1 scores indicate, and that the offensive performance has been better, if you take a look at the hockey analytics. We'll expand in that in a second.

In the Stanley Cup Finals betting odds posted on this game by the folks at BetOnline, the Lightning have been installed as the road favorites:

Tampa Bay Lightning -125
Montreal Canadiens  +115

Lightning -1.5 Goals +200
Canadiens +1.5 Goals -240

Over 5 Goals -117
Under 5 Goals +106

You could fashion the argument that the Habs are a pretty good home underdog. After all, they had a favorable Corsi figure of 58.9% in Game 2, as well as an Expected Goals percentage of 60.75% in even strength situations, and these are significant numbers. They also outshot Tampa Bay by a 43-23 margin. So these would be pretty good indicators that perhaps a turnaround is imminent.

What might also be significant is that in matchups between Vasilevskiy and Montreal's Carey Price, Tampa Bay is 8-0, with Price chalking up just a .879 save percentage.

However, during these playoffs, Price has a .935 save percentage at home. His team has to get its act together in playing a full 60 minutes; they have been outscored 4-0 in the third period.

And in each of the last four meetings between the Habs and the Bolts, Montreal has scored a single goal or less.

Given the way Vasilevskiy is playing (42 saves on Wednesday!), maybe the Canadiens don't offer a terrific amount of value as a home dog. And it is kind of a downer that they were denied the opportunity to occupy the Bell Centre at half capacity (so there will be about 3500 in attendance).

But if the Canadiens are going to get back into this series, it's going to be a result of great goaltending on the part of Price. And that is why we're going UNDER the total on Friday night.

With BetOnline you can enjoy incredible Stanley Cup betting, with all the props you can possibly handle........ Also, after the opening face-off, enjoy real-time wagers by clicking on the "Live Betting" tab at the top of the sportsbook interface.