The Tampa Bay Lightning face off against the New York Rangers Friday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Finals playoff series. New York leads the series 1-0. Puck drop from Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we look at the Lightning vs. Rangers Game 2 odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
The Rangers were red hot in Game 1 as they put 6 goals past Lightning stud G Andrei Vasilevskiy in a 6-2 victory. Rangers C Filip Chytil had 2 goals, and C Mika Zibanejad had 1 goal and 1 assist to lead the charge. Zibanejad has points in 6 straight games and has 5 goals and 5 assists during the stretch.
The Lightning were clearly rusty after 9 days off, and they got outworked getting to loose pucks. They outshot the Rangers 39-34, but Tampa only won 40 percent of the faceoffs and went 0-for-3 on the power play.
Lightning at Rangers odds and lines
- Money line: Lightning -130 (bet $130 to win $100) | Rangers +105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Against the spread (ATS): Lightning -1.5 (+185) | Rangers +1.5 (-260)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -105 | U: -120)
Lightning at Rangers projected goalies
Andrei Vasilevskiy (8-4, 2.53 GAA, .923 SV%, 1 SO – playoffs) vs Igor Shesterkin (9-5, 2.64 GAA, .929 SV% – playoffs)
Vassy allowed 3 goals in 4 games to the Florida Panthers last series and was shelled for 6 in Game 1. He made 28 saves on 34 shots. The MSG crowd began chanting “Igor’s better,” which is sure to light a fire under him. Expect his best in Game 2.
Shesterkin was shaken up during Game 1 after a hit to his head. He was fine, but that’s something to watch as the series progresses. Shesterkin has allowed more than 2 goals once in the last 8 games. He has found his Vezina form after struggling early in these playoffs.
Money line
Tampa got embarrassed, and I think things will tighten up considerably. The most competitive person on the ice may be Vasilevskiy, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stood on his head to give Tampa the ability to steal home-ice advantage. Tampa is the favorite for a reason. Roll with the LIGHTNING -130.
Against the spread
I’m not a fan of either puck line here, especially the Rangers’ side at -260. One prop bet I would consider is the Lightning scoring first and setting the tone LIGHTNING FIRST GOAL (-125) is at a solid price here. I would also consider LIGHTNING OVER 2.5 GOALS IN REGULATION (-140).
Over/Under
The Over cashed in Game 1, but that was the first time in 6 games for Tampa the Under didn’t hit. It’ll be close with a 5.5 number, but I really feel like this will be a lot more crisp LEAN UNDER 5.5 (-120) in a showdown of arguably the 2 best goalies in the league.