Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Stanley Cup Finals - Game 1

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

The Chicago Blackhawks take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The opening line has Chicago at +105 and Tampa Bay at -125. The over/under has been set at 5 in this showdown of the top teams in the NHL.

The 2015 Stanley Cup Finals will be a fantastic series occupied by two very skilled and fast teams. The Blackhawks are playing in their third finals series in the salary cap era and will be looking to win their third in that same period which could put them at dynasty status. The Blackhawks got to this point by beating the Nashville Predators in six games in round 1. They then continued that trend with a sweep of a hot Minnesota Wild team and followed that up with a game 7 win against a very tough Anaheim Ducks squad.

Patrick Kane was the leading scorer along the way with 10 goals and 10 assists to total 20 points. Even with Patrick Kane leading the way, Duncan Keith will have to be the key player going forward. The reigning Norris Trophy winner has sacrificed himself all playoffs long and has 18 points over the three series they've played thus far with two goals and 16 assists. Not only is he playing well when he's on the ice, he's also leading the league in ice time throughout the playoffs with 31:35 per game. He plays in every scenario and still seems to be as fresh as the day the playoffs started.

The Blackhawks are 4-1 in their last 5 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game and 4-1 in their last 5 after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game. They are 9-3 in their last 12 vs. a team with a winning record and 6-2 in their last 8 Stanley Cup Finals games. The over is 5-0-3 in the Blackhawks last 8 when their opponent allows 2 goals or less in their previous game and 5-0-2 in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.

On the other side of the ice are the Tampa Bay Lightning, who had a bit of a tougher road on their way to the finals. In round 1, the Lightning dispatched the Detroit Red Wings in seven games. In round 2 they defeated the Montreal Canadiens in six games and finally took care of the New York Rangers in an exciting series which ended in seven games.

The leading scorer for the Lightning throughout the playoffs is Tyler Johnson with 21 points on 12 goals and nine assists. In order for the Lightning to win this cup finals, they're going to need their star players to step up and that is exactly what Steven Stamkos has been doing of late. Stamkos started off slow in the playoffs scoring just one goal in his first 11 games of this postseason. However, in his last nine games he's scored six goals and was a key component of beating a Rangers team that had been a defensive wall over the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He'll need to keep up the scoring in order for them to keep up with Chicago who is averaging more than a half a goal more than Tampa Bay in these playoffs.

The Lightning are 9-3 in their last 12 vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 8-3 in their last 11 games playing on 3 or more days rest. They are 8-3 in their last 11 after scoring 2 goals or less in their previous game and 7-3 in their last 10 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game. The over is 4-0-1 in Tampa's last 5 home games and 4-1-1 in their last 6 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.

Head-to-head, the over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Tampa Bay and the home team is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings. The Blackhawks are 1-6 in the last 7 meetings and 0-4 in the last 4 meetings in Tampa Bay.

Chicago Blackhawks Betting Trends

Chicago Blackhawks are 60-39-0 Against the Spread

Chicago Blackhawks are 37-47-0 against the Over/Under

Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

Tampa Bay Lightning are 62-40-0 Against the Spread

Tampa Bay Lightning are 52-45-0 against the Over/Under

Injuries to Watch

Chicago Blackhawks

05/08/15 D Michal Rozsival Ankle Injury out for season

Tampa Bay Lightning

10/06/14 D Mattias Ohlund Knee Injury out indefinitely

Guy's Pick: Take Tampa Bay

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