- The Colorado Avalanche look to clinch the Stanley Cup tonight when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The Avs have dominated this postseason, which has benefited them in a big way throughout the playoffs.
- Nick Martin breaks down Game 5 below and explains why he expects the Avs to hoist the Stanley Cup tonight.
Lightning vs. Avalanche Odds
| Lightning Odds | +146 |
| Avalanche Odds | -176 |
| Over/Under | 6 (-106 / -114) |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET |
| TV | ABC/ESPN+ |
| Odds via FanDuel. Get up-to-the-minute NHL Odds here. | |
Nazem Kadri’s beautiful overtime winner in Game 4 has his Avalanche on the cusp of finally hoisting the Stanley Cup, and Colorado will enter as heavy favorites Friday to cap off its magical run on home ice.
After Game 4 closed as a pick’em, does it seem fair for Colorado to be priced as a massive favorite at -185?
What the two-time defending champion Lightning have done over the last two seasons has been nothing short of spectacular – and the resilience shown from this group to even get into this position has been nothing short of spectacular.
In each of the last two cup runs, Brayden Point was among the very best Lightning skaters, and getting through two very tough opponents without him is wildly impressive. I feel this potential series loss is far from the Lightning finally getting a tough team in the Cup final.
Tampa Bay has fought through a plethora of injuries this postseason. Now, it seems like Jon Cooper’s group is finally running out of gas as it meets an extremely talented and well-rested Avalanche squad.
Erik Cernak has quietly proven to be one of the toughest players in hockey over the last few seasons, but the quietly stellar defender was clearly dinged up badly before leaving Game 4.
It’s quite likely we’ll see him and maybe even Point skate in this contest. However, it’s hard to imagine either will be able to play anywhere near top form.
Tampa Bay got dominated in the opening two games of the series in Colorado, managing an expected goals rate of 33.85%. Even if some of the Lightning’s dinged-up players manage surprisingly strong performances tonight, it will likely take an all-world performance from Andrei Vasilevskiy to force a Game 6.
This’s very possible, as Vasilevskiy has been tremendous again this postseason, playing to a +13.7 goals saved above expected rating with a .920 save %.