Lightning Expected to Complete First Stanley Cup Sweep Since 1998

The Stanley Cup will be in the Bell Centre tonight when the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4 of the Finals.

With the Lightning entering the game up 3-0 in the series, they have a chance to complete the series sweep which hasn’t been done in the finals since it was done in four years straight from 1995-1998. The Detroit Red Wings were the last team to accomplish it when they swept the Washington Capitals in the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals.

Don’t worry Montreal fans, the mayor of Tampa Bay is on your side in Game 4.

While the mayor of Tampa may be rooting for the Canadiens to extend the series by a game, oddsmakers aren’t so sure it’ll happen.

WynnBET has the Lightning set as -160 favorites to close out the series and win their second straight Stanley Cup tonight. The Canadiens are set as +130 underdogs and the total for the game is set at 5.5.

The Canadiens have actually played the Lightning much tougher this series than the scores would indicate. In fact, Montreal is outshooting Tampa Bay 97-80 as we enter Game 4 tonight.

Ironically, it’s the Canadiens goaltending that has let them down this series despite them making the finals in large part due to Carey Price’s play. After playing lights out in between the pipes for the first three series of the NHL playoffs, Price has yet to have a game in the finals where he’s had a save percentage higher than .870.

Given the Canadiens hard-nosed, defensive style of hockey that they play, it’s near impossible to win games when you’re allowing three or more goals.

These numbers do give some hope for the Habs. If Price can round back into form and start playing as well as he had up until this point, the Canadiens have played the Lightning close enough that they can win the next two games and be right back in the series.

While it’s unlikely, it’s certainly worth a bet at +7500 odds at WynnBET.