The Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning are back at it for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference First Round series less than 48 hours after finishing the fourth-longest game in Stanley Cup Playoffs history.
The puck will drop shortly after 3 p.m. ET Thursday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, and we’ll see if the two sides can settle things in 60 minutes. Below, we look at the Blue Jackets-Lightning betting odds and lines and make our NHL picks and best bets.
Blue Jackets vs. Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Joonas Korpisalo vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Korpisalo set a modern-day NHL record while stopping 85 of the 88 shots on goal he faced in Game 1. Despite allowing three goals in the game, his postseason goals against average dropped to 1.34, and he leads all playoff goaltenders with a .960 save percentage through five games including the qualification round.
Vasilevskiy, a Vezina Trophy candidate, faced only 63 shots in the marathon match and made 61 saves. He has fully rebounded from last year’s playoff disappointment and enters Thursday with a .941 SV% and 1.62 GAA through four games.
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Blue Jackets vs. Lightning: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Lightning 4, Blue Jackets 2
Moneyline (ML)
The second-seeded LIGHTNING (-176) racked up 174 total shot attempts – including blocked and missed shots – against the Blue Jackets’ (+150) 100 attempts. If not for Korpisalo, Game 1 would have been settled much sooner.
Expect Tampa Bay to continue driving possession and the play in Game 2 and through this series. Stick with the higher-seeded team with no changes expected for either side.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
Take the LIGHTNING -1.5 (+155) to win by at least 2 goals. They’ll be able to find some more holes in Korpisalo after Tuesday’s shooting gallery. Vasilevskiy’s lighter effort in Game 1 will certainly be a big advantage for the rest of the series.
Over/Under (O/U)
Look at the alternate lines to get the projected total of 5.5 and take the OVER 5.5 (+135). The half-goal hook drastically improves the potential payout from the baseline of 5.
All but two skaters dressed for Game 1 played over 20 minutes from Tuesday afternoon into the night. Blue Jackets Ds Seth Jones and Zach Werenski played 65:06 and 61:14, respectively. Expect a drop off in defensive effort Thursday.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 32-22
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