The New York Rangers continued their home winning streak, winning the first two games of the Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden.
Now, they'll be looking to steal a game away from the Lightning on the road as the series heads to Tampa Bay for Game 3 on Sunday afternoon.
As always, let's dive into my best bet for the game, with odds courtesy of WynnBET, as well as two prop bets with consensus odds that I think are worth betting on for today's game.
Best Bets for Rangers vs. Lightning Game 3
- Lightning -175
- Igor Shesterkin OVER 31.5 Saves (-115)
- Nikita Kucherov Anytime Goal +125
Lightning -175
At this point I'm willing to go down with the ship on the Tampa Bay Lightning. They're out-playing the Rangers, despite being down 2-0 in the series. Their expected goals per game this series is 3.74, and compared to the Rangers at 3.02. They're also creating more high-danger scoring chances, and outranking them in CORSI percentage.
I refuse to believe they'll go down 3-0 in the series against an inferior opponent. It's Lightning or nothing for me in this game.
Igor Shesterkin OVER 31.5 Saves (-115)
Taking the OVER on Shesterkin's saves total has been an auto-bet these playoffs. Before his 29-save performance in Game 2, he had three-straight games with 37 saves. The Rangers have also allowed an average of 36.39 shots on goal per game throughout the playoffs.
Nikita Kucherov Anytime Goal +125
Nikita Kucherov found the back of the net in Game 2, and I'm willing to bet he does it again in Game 3. The Lightning, down 2-0 in the series, will need their top goalscorer to show up in a big way this afternoon, and when called upon, Kucherov brings his "A" game. If he can lead the Lightning to a win, Tampa Bay will be right back in this series.
You can track Iain's bets on Betstamp here.