Betting Advice for Game 4 of Stanley Cup Final at Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Needed Just 40 Minutes

The Tampa Bay Lightning are two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions and looked like it in the Game 3 win. Colorado looked a little chaotic at times. The Avalanche allowed three goals in a row twice.

With scoring effects and Tampa Bay’s effort in the first 40 minutes, Colorado was the fresher team in the third period. 

While that could be a concern going forward, Tampa Bay finally collapsed Colorado’s defense into the middle of the ice. They caused the Avalanche to get bogged down, resulting in better chances and goals. 

Besides the even-strength execution, Tampa Bay snapped an 0 for 16 drought with a power-play goal of their own. That goal helped offset the two early man-advantage tallies from the Avalanche. That was Colorado’s only offense on the night as Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 37 of 39 shots in the Game 3 win. 

It is difficult to deny that Colorado is still the superior team. Can Tampa Bay generate enough scoring chances to scare Darcy Kuemper and Colorado’s defense?

Despite blowouts in back-to-back games, the Stanley Cup Final contests have been quite entertaining — especially for Ontario sports betting players.

Colorado And Tampa Bay: The Keys To Game 4

The Avalanche and Lightning flipped again somewhat after Game 3. For two periods, Tampa Bay looked every bit the defending champions that they are. 

The Lightning scored three goals in the first period and three more in the second. Overall, their expected goals were 1.77 to Colorado’s 1.20 at home. The Avalanche controlled possession and every metric during the third period.

Also, Tampa Bay had nine high-danger scoring chances in the first 40 minutes. Colorado had six. Now, Vasilevskiy was terrific during the final 20 minutes. The goaltender made three or four extraordinary saves to preserve the 6-2 margin of victory.

Discipline remains key for Wednesday night as Tampa Bay must stay out of the penalty box to keep Colorado from getting too many opportunities. The Lightning finally adjusted their penalty kill to diffuse some of the pressure going down the middle too fast. Will that work in Game 4? That is unknown. 

Colorado had problems with Darcy Kuemper in goal, and Canadian Sports Bettors watched the Over connect again. It had to be a nice feeling for wagerers to make a little profit thanks to the way goals have broken down (seven each in Games 1 and 2, eight in Game 3).

Game 1 featured six combined power-plays. Will Game 2 be more of the same? Fewer calls favor the Lightning more than the Avalanche. Tampa must play disciplined if they expect to steal Game 2.

Some Numbers And A Few More Nutty Bets?

Ontario Wagerers should bet wisely for Game 4. We plan to focus on a few options. Also, watch your timing. 

Late Monday, a swing forced bettors to ponder the Tampa Bay puckline. There was extra value on the Over at 6.5 goals. Keep this in mind.

Anyway, here are some picks and leans below:

• Colorado in regulation - 2.35 - Watch the afternoon swing with the moneyline
• Tampa Bay Lightning Hedge in Regulation Possible - 2.30
• Colorado / Tampa Bay Over six goals - 1.95 (Again, check the number at 6.5)
• Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon anytime goal - 7.00
• Lightning win 4-2 over Avalanche - 23.00 (worth a look if it goes to 25.00)
• The correct score for both 5-3 outcomes - 31.00
• Ondrej Palat Over 0.5 points - 1.74
• Valeri Nichushkin Goal and C.J. Cron Home Run - 10.00
• Victor Hedman Over 2.5 shots - 1.77
• Devon Toews Over 1.5 blocked shots - 2.50
• Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen all Over 2.5 shots - 4.00
• Kuemper Under on saves - lean on again.
• Andre Vasilevskiy Over on saves - bet small fractional unit.

Good luck, ladies and gentlemen. Let’s do that hockey!