The Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning kick off their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinals for Game 1 Sunday at 8 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. We analyze the Bruins-Lightning NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Bruins vs. Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Jaroslav Halak vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Halak stepped into the crease for Game 3 against the Carolina Hurricanes after Tuukka Rask left the bubble to return home for family reasons. Halak was a little shaky in Game 4, but overall, he was 3-0 with a 1.67 goals against average and .932 save percentage across his three starts. The B’s didn’t skip a beat with Halak in between the pipes. However, there is a big difference between pushing aside the up-and-coming Hurricanes and the NHL’s No. 1 offense (3.5 goals per game) of the Lightning.
Vasilevskiy helped the Lightning avenge last season’s embarrassing sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets with four wins in five games in the first round. He was 4-1 with a 1.84 GAA and .930 SV% against the Jackets, and he was 3-1 with a 2.46 GAA and .928 SV% in the regular season against the B’s, while also stopping 25 of 27 shots in a 3-2 win in a round-robin game vs. Boston on Aug. 5.
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Bruins 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 12:23 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Lightning 3, Bruins 1
Moneyline (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-112) are the pick as slight favorites, and the difference here is Vasilevskiy. He looks determined to put last season’s debacle behind him and take the Lightning on his back deep into the postseason. In fact, this might be his biggest test of the entire playoffs in this series. The Bruins (-106) will win a couple of games in this series, but I like Tampa in the opener. For an added bonus, take the LIGHTNING (+140) on the 3-way line. If they win in regulation, you receive plus money, which is always nice. But if they win in overtime, you lose.
New to sports betting? A winning $10 bet on the Lightning on the 2-way line returns a profit of $8.93, while a bet on the 3-way line fetches a $14 profit if Tampa wins in regulation.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The LIGHTNING (-1.5, +240) is a tempting play at this rate, but go very, very lightly. In 76 postseason games to date, favorites are just 41-35, with the puck-line cashing in 20 of those contests.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-139) is the best bet here. Halak has been respectable since taking the reins for the B’s, and Vasilevskiy is playing at a Vezina level. The under is 33-36-7 in 76 postseason games so far, and 3-1 in the past four for Boston, while going 3-1-1 in the first round for Tampa Bay.
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