Rangers vs Lightning Picks & Odds: Tampa Bay Favored To Clinch Berth In Final

The Tampa Bay Lightning (62-28-8) will try to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for the third consecutive year on Saturday in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final vs the New York Rangers (62-31-8) as solid home favorites. The Rangers vs Lightning prediction likes the hosts to move on while the visitors have an uphill battle to climb after losing the last three games of this series. 

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Rangers vs Lightning Odds & Analysis

Sportsbook Odds 

It is no surprise to see Tampa Bay rise up over -180 in early wagering action, as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions are playing with a ton of confidence and appear super motivated to win their third straight title this year. If you like the Lightning to advance, it would probably be best to grab the number as soon as possible because it should only continue to go up. Meanwhile, if you like New York, wait as long as possible.

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New York Desperate To Turn Things Around Despite Road Woes

The only positive thing you can say about the Rangers at this point is that they somehow found a way to win Game 7 against the Carolina Hurricanes on the road in the last round after they had lost the previous three at PNC Arena. This is their Game 7 of this series even though winning would only send it back to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday with no guarantees of moving on.

How much does New York have left in the tank? Bettors should find out early on in this one, as it has been extremely difficult for the players to overcome losing Game 3 when they had a 2-0 lead and could have been up 3-0 in the series. While they have battled at times, they have also obviously looked defeated in losing three in a row. A 2-7 road mark this postseason makes a turnaround seem unlikely.

Tampa Bay Earns Home-Ice Advantage At Opportune Time

The Lightning finally figured out a way to strike away from home, and now they are in an ideal position to play for the Cup with one more victory.

A 3-1 win in Game 5 further proved how mentally tough this team is and why no opponent is safe late. Tampa Bay has scored in the final two minutes to win two of the last three games, and the other one was not particularly close. Mentally, that is very difficult for an opponent to get past and why this team is a defending champion.

It also helps to have an all-time record of 8-2 when leading a best-of-seven series 3-2. That is just another reason why the Rangers vs Lightning prediction favors the hosts to win Game 6 and advance to the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.

Rangers vs Lightning Pick & Insights

Rangers: Keys To Victory

New York quite simply needs to find a way to get its top scoring line to put the puck in the back of the net, and then hope that is enough to get the job done. Leading scorer Mika Zibanejad (10 goals and 14 assists in these playoffs) has been shut down in the last two, being held without a point in consecutive games for the first time since the beginning of the Carolina series. Chris Kreider (10 goals) also has only one assist in the last two games. That must change, or else the Rangers will be heading home for the summer. 

Lightning: Keys To Victory

All Tampa Bay needs to do is hang around and hope goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy continues playing like a Conn Smythe Trophy contender. Vasilevskiy has been outstanding during the team’s three-game winning streak with 86 saves on 90 shots, continuing to outplay counterpart Igor Shesterkin. If you are backing the hosts with your Rangers vs Lightning pick, then you think the Big Cat will come through with another W.

NHL Computer Pick: Lightning -180

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