The Tampa Bay Lightning throw down against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals Wednesday at Ball Arena in Denver. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN+).
Below, we list the best value prop bets from Tipico Sportsbook‘s 2022 Stanley Cup Final Game 1 odds and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
The Lightning are flirting with history trying to become the first team to threepeat since the New York Islanders won from 1980-84. Colorado, the heavy favorite, has an infusion of young talent that appears ready to hoist the Cup and start a dynasty of its own.
Stanley Cup Final prop bets for Game 1
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated 12:13 p.m. ET.
Starting off Game 1 HOT: Nathan MacKinnon & Steven Stamkos to both score BOOSTED (+500)
Stamkos scored 5 goals in the Eastern Conference Finals and netted a goal in 4 of 6 games. The Lightning scored 31 goals in the series, and Stamkos accounted for 31% of them. He also scored 1 goal in 2 games against Colorado in the regular season. There’s a lot to like on his side of this wager. MacKinnon had a tough series against the St. Louis Blues as he scored in 1 of 6 games, but he scored in 7 of the 8 games in the other two series. He had 1 goal and 2 assists against Tampa in the 3rd game of the regular season. This is a solid bet where $10 can return $50.
Conn Smyth Trophy Winner – Nathan MacKinnon (+210)
Avs D Cale Makar (+180) is the favorite, and he has 4 more points than MacKinnon in the playoffs. However, MacKinnon has had more impactful moments. That goal he scored, coast to coast, to tie the game against the St. Louis Blues in Game 5 would have been iconic if they hadn’t lost that game. MacKinnon has the ability to put the team on his back, whereas Makar is a super-gifted player that just pitches in more often than most. If the Avs win, it’s because of the playmaking and game-breaking ability of MacKinnon.
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Colorado Wins Series 4-2 (+425)
Barring injury, Tampa doesn’t have enough offensively to beat the Avs, and they’ll expend so much energy defensively trying to contain them it will prove too much. That said, Tampa has lost only once on home ice in the playoffs. They will lose another, maybe in Game 6 to decide it. If you want to hedge and put a wager on Colorado Wins Series 4-1 (+380) for some leeway, you’ll still be ahead if either of them cash.
Avalanche (in regulation) & Over 5.5 (+230)
Our Kevin Erickson pegged this a 4-3 Avs win, and that seems pretty reasonable. Colorado is the highest-scoring offense in the playoffs at nearly 5 goals per game, but it has had a lengthy layoff as well and will face its biggest task in Lightning G Andrei Vasilevskiy. We should see 6 goals and an Avs win in Game 1.
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