Tampa Bay vs Carolina: Тхе Lightning will put their opponent on the edge of the abyss

The Tampa Bay hockey team leads the series 2-0 after two away games against Carolina. Will Rod Brind'Amour's team be able to get a win in the upcoming battle, returning the intrigue to the confrontation? Our prediction: the Lightning will be closer to success again!

Tampa Bay is racing toward its second straight Stanley Cup. Yes, they could not boast of results in the regular championship, but there were reasons for that, but now all the leaders of the Lightning recovered, gained good progress, and are now crushing one opponent after another. First, John Cooper's wards without much trouble dealt with Florida - 4-2, and now they are tormenting Carolina as well. In the two away meetings, Tampa Bay seemed to expend exactly as much energy as they needed to win, while they could add more if necessary. So it turns out that they brought a 2-0 series lead from Raleigh.

Carolina had a great regular season, taking first place in the Central Division standings as if to hint that they are now not just a young and promising bunch that can bite the favorites, but a full-fledged contender for the Stanley Cup. Rod Brind'Amour charges suffered from Nashville in the first round, but still won the final victory - 4-2, and in the series, with Tampa Bay, they play with approximately the same quality, only now the opponent has Andrei Vasilevskiy, who categorically refuses to let in more than one goal per game. As a result, the Hurricanes lost both home games, 1-2, and now they need to create a miracle in order to pass on.

For the second year in a row, Tampa Bay is proving that the loss to Columbus two years ago did them good because they got stronger. Now the Lightning has a killer instinct that allows them to simply get the puck in the goal instead of flashy and colorful action, and instead of extra seconds on the ice, make timely shifts. Carrying out their coaching assignment and game discipline allows John Cooper's team to claim their second Stanley Cup in a row, while the Hurricanes simply can't find any weaknesses in their opponent to claw for a result. As a result, we have to bet on Tampa Bay's victory at odds of about 2.30.

Tampa Bay and Carolina have been quite stingy in terms of scoring, as the Lightning won both of their meetings 2-1. At the same time, the teams have a lot of bright and quality players on the offensive line who simply can't afford to stay quiet for so long. That's why the Hurricanes' coach Rod Brind'Amour noted that soon his charges will surely break through, and the Lightning on their ice will certainly attack more than in Raleigh. Given this, the optimal option for the forecast seems to be a total of more than 5.5 pucks at odds close to 2.20.

Alex Killorn is having a great playoff run. If for the whole last Cup campaign he scored 7 points (4 goals + 3 assists) and played 21 games in total, now in eight games the Canadian has already recorded 9 points (5 goals + 4 assists), which makes him the third-best scorer of the team. In the current Stanley Cup schedule, the 31-year-old forward regularly goes on the power play and often creates a threat in the equal teams, so it is worth taking a closer look at the bet on the total of over 0.5 points by Alex Killorn with the odds of about 3.20.