The Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins continue their Eastern Conference round-robin play Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The puck will drop at 4 p.m. ET as the third of the six Stanley Cup Playoff games on the day’s docket. We analyze the Lightning-Bruins NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
Lightning vs. Bruins: Projected starting goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy vs. Tuukka Rask
Vasilevskiy started much stronger this postseason than he did last year in the Lightning’s surprise first-round exit at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He stopped 31 of 33 shots faced in Tampa Bay’s 3-2 shootout win over the Washington Capitals Monday.
Rask will make his 2019-20 playoff debut after sitting on the bench for backup Jaroslav Halak in Sunday’s shocking 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Rask will now face his fellow Vezina Trophy candidate with a couple extra days of rest on top of the four-month layoff.
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Lightning vs. Bruins: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday at 1:30 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Lightning 2, Bruins 1
Moneyline (ML)
These two played twice in their final five games of the regular season. They split those decisions, with the Bruins (-112) winning 2-1 and the LIGHTNING (-106) winning 5-3. The Lightning also earned a 4-3 shootout victory and a 3-2 regulation win earlier in the season to take the Atlantic Division rivalry series 3-1.
The Eastern Conference’s second-seeded Lightning earned the win against a better opponent (the Capitals) in their opening game of round-robin play. This game should truly be a pick ’em, so take the added value on the LIGHTNING (-106).
As seen in Tampa Bay’s first game, these round-robin contests play just a five-minute overtime before a shootout to decide the winner. The Bruins went 0-7 in shootouts in the regular season, while the Lightning were 2-1 and are already 1-0 in this postseason format.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
There’s just enough value on the puck line to take LIGHTNING +1 (-189) in what’s sure to be a tight, low-scoring game between two of the top goaltenders in the NHL.
Should the Lightning lose by a single goal, the investment of the bet will be refunded in full as a push. If the Lightning win outright, as predicted above, then both bets would cash.
Over/Under (O/U)
The best bet on Wednesday’s six-game slate is the UNDER 5.5 (-106). We’re seeing two perennial Vezina Trophy candidates, including a rested Rask.
The four regular-season meetings between the two split 2-2 on this projection, but expect the modified playoff conditions and Boston’s added stress of the opening loss to factor into a true defensive battle.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 8-8
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