Rangers vs Lightning Betting Odds: Defending Champions Look to Even Series

Rangers Look to Keep Control of the Eastern Conference Finals

Much of the talk during the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final has been the play of the Rangers’ “Kid Line” of Alexis Lafrenière, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko. Their impressive play was starting to shift the Lightning vs Rangers betting odds. Well, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s veterans weren’t about to let the kids have all the fun.

Ondřej Palát, a key member of the last two Stanley Cup-winning teams, scored his franchise-record 10th game-winning playoff goal with 41 seconds left to play to give the Tampa Bay Lightning what could be a season-saving victory. If the Rangers had come away with the win, Tuesday’s Game 4 would be for the chance to sweep the Lightning. Instead, Tampa Bay is looking to even the series and turn the Eastern Conference Final into a best-of-three series.

It won’t be easy. The Rangers are just 2-6 on the road in the postseason and are tied for the most road losses in these playoffs. New York is being outshot 36-28 away from home in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay looked very much like a team playing as if its season was on the line. The Lightning set a team record for the most shots on goal (51) in a regulation game in the postseason. Six different players had five shots on goal with four of them (Alex Killorn, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Ryan McDonough) older than 30.

The Rangers odds to win the Stanley Cup dropped from +250 to +400. When it comes to betting for the Tampa Bay Lightning, their odds went from +650 to +400. The series price is now -140 in favor of the Rangers.

Rangers vs Lightning Game Information

• Game: Rangers (52-24-6 in the regular season) Lightning (51-23-8)
• Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa
• Day/Time: Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
• Television: ESPN

Rangers Still Controlling Series Despite Sunday’s Loss

The New York Rangers are so close to a return to the Stanley Cup Finals. A win in Tuesday’s Game 4 and the roof will be ready to come off of Madison Square Garden in Game 5 – with the Rangers having the chance to represent the Eastern Conference in the NHL‘s championship series.

Veterans Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider had power-play goals to give New York the 2-0 lead at the midway point of the pivotal Game 3.

The Lightning outshot the Rangers 26-10 the rest of the way with three of them beating Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin. That comeback has impacted the Rangers vs Lightning betting odds.

The Rangers squandered a glorious opportunity to regain the lead in the third period when Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was called for a double minor for high sticking. New York managed just one shot on goal before defenseman Jacob Trouba was sent to the penalty box for tripping to kill off much of the power play.

The line of Kreider, Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin combined for two goals and three assists while none of the other forwards recorded a point. That will have to change in the next game for the New York Rangers.

The good news for New York is that it still leads the series 2-1 and a win on Tuesday would give the Rangers a 3-1 lead so there would be two chances to end the series playing at home. The not-so-good news is that the Rangers have been outscored 29-21 on the road during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Lightning Need Veterans to Get Back in this One

When it comes to being a part of history, trying to become just the fifth team in the NHL to rally from an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven game series wasn’t quite what Tampa Bay had in mind. Thanks to Palat’s goal late in the third period, the Lightning still have a chance to become the first team since the New York Islanders of the early 1980s to win three straight NHL titles. The Rangers vs Lightning betting odds have favored Tampa Bay in each game in the series and Game 4 will be no different.

Kucherov, Tampa Bay’s top point producer in this year’s playoffs, started the comeback just over a minute after Kreider’s goal to make it a 2-1 game. Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos tied things up early in the third period to set the stage for a wild finish.

Kucherov set up Palat as he moved into a tie for the team lead with his sixth goal in the playoffs with 41 seconds to play to give Tampa Bay the 3-2 win. Kucherov had a goal and two assists for his seventh multi-point game in the playoffs with Tampa Bay 5-2 in those contests.

“He’s been an electrifying player,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of Kucherov. “He’s got two Stanley Cup rings. I think when teams go that far, each team has those types of players on them, and that’s what Kuch is. He’s a unique, special talent.”

Rangers vs Lightning Betting Analysis

Keep an eye on the availability of Rangers center Ryan Strome, who left Game 3 with an upper-body injury, while Tampa Bay will continue to be without center Brayden Point.

Not only did Tampa Bay have 51 shots on goal in Game 3 but 18 other shots were blocked. The Rangers will need to do a better job of puck possession to remain in control of the series.

The first four goals in Sunday’s Game 3 were scored on a power play and that could be a key part of Game 4. Tampa Bay is 3 for 8 on the power play in the series and New York is 3 for 11 with the man advantage.

The odds of the Rangers winning the series in six games carries a payout of +325 and that matches the odds of Tampa Bay coming back and winning in seven games. The Moneyline for the Rangers winning the series in five games is +350.

The Lightning had been 0-5 against the Rangers this season and led for less than 23 minutes in those five contests before Sunday’s victory. The Rangers outscored the Lightning 19-8 in those five games.

The Rangers are 6-4 in the last nine one-goal games against Tampa Bay.

Zibanejad has seven goals in six games against Tampa Bay this season while Adam Fox has eight assists. Shesterkin has a 1.81 goals-against average and a save percentage of .949 when facing Tampa Bay this year.

The Lightning’s Andrei Vasilevskiy is 1-4 with a 3.44 GAA against the Rangers with a save percentage of .879.