Tampa Bay vs Colorado Prediction: Expect another high-scoring encounter

Tampa Bay Lightning will take on Colorado Avalanche in game 3 of the 2022 Stanley Cup final on June 21, 03:00 (UTC+3). Let’s see how the opponents are doing & what the best bet is. There are several options for you to consider!

Tampa Bay clearly wasn't expecting this kind of start to the final series. While in the first game, the fans of the team weren't ashamed of their hockey players – they did their best to lose with the score at 3-4 in overtime – after the second game, they must have changed their mind. The Lightning was destroyed by the Avalanche 0-7. However, all is not lost – now Tampa Bay will have two games at the Amalie Arena, where they have all chances either to bounce back to the series or even show a bigger disgrace.

For Colorado, who have never seen their opponents in the playoffs, the final series also began in a fashion. First, the Avalanche outscored Tampa Bay in overtime (4-3), then simply blew them away by seven unanswered goals. That's an extremely serious bid for the Stanley Cup. This is the biggest blowout in a Finals series since the 1990/91 season, when Pittsburgh defeated Minnesota (8-0).

It is extremely difficult to pick a favorite in the third game of this series. At the Amalie Arena, we should expect an unbelievable effort from Tampa Bay, especially after a shameful 0-7. At 0-3, the outcome of the series will be practically decided and the Lightning will give everything they have, but they will try not to let that happen. Plus they have a fresh and successful experience of playing in the finals. As for Colorado, that could be a bit ambiguous. On the one hand, the 7-0 win in their last game could loosen them up considerably. But on the other hand, ‌this is the Avalanche, and it's very difficult to imagine them losing.

Key stats

• Colorado is a slight favorite in the matchup;
• Colorado has scored more than two pucks in ten games in a row;
• Colorado has not lost in regulation time in ten games in a row.

We suggest betting on a standard Total Over in the upcoming encounter. In the first match, the opponents went over it, and in the second, it was Colorado who did it. We think that we are in for a decent number of pucks in the third, because Tampa Bay simply has no choice. There's no chance for anything else with such an Avalance. As trite as it may sound, they need to score more than their opponent to succeed.

Our prediction: Total Over (5.5) for 1.85.

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