The New York Rangers have won seven consecutive playoff games at Madison Square Garden, including a 6-2 rout in Game 1 of the NHL Eastern Conference Finals. The Tampa Bay Lightning have won 18 consecutive playoff games when coming off a loss. Translation: Something’s gotta give when the teams return to the ice Friday night — and if you believe the bookmakers who posted Lightning vs Rangers odds for Game 2, that something will be New York’s streak.
As was the case in the opener of this best-of-7 series, the Rangers head into Game 2 as home underdogs — even though New York flat-out dominated a Lightning squad coming off a nine-day layoff. And by dominated we mean this: The Rangers scored two more goals in Game 1 than Tampa Bay surrendered in its previous five games combined (four).
Can the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs bounce back from a postseason defeat for a 19th straight time? Or will New York defend home ice once again, earn its fourth consecutive victory overall and take a commanding 2-0 series lead?
Props.com has the full break down of Lightning vs Rangers odds and action for Game 2 of the best-of-7 series.
NHL Eastern Conference Finals: Game 2 Odds
| Matchup | Moneyline | Puckline | Total | Series Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Lightning | -130 | +205 (-1.5 goals) | 5.5 (Over +105) | +105 |
| New York Rangers | +110 | -255 (+1.5 goals) | 5.5 (Under -125) | -125 |
Odds via DraftKings and updated as of 5:45 p.m. ET on June 3.
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N.Y. Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning (8 p.m. ET/ESPN)
Best-of-7 series: New York leads, 1-0. The Rangers are now 4-0 against the Lightning this season with a +16 goal differential (16-6).
Playoff results to date: Tampa Bay 8-4 overall (4-3 road); New York 9-6 overall (7-1 home)
Game 1 recap: It took the Rangers just 71 seconds to get on the board Wednesday. Although Tampa Bay tied it six minutes later, New York scored five of the final six goals — all within about a 22-minute stretch of action spanning the second and third periods — to cruise to the victory. Six Rangers skaters tallied two points, including center Filip Chytil, who lit the lamp twice in 5½-minute span in the second period.
Game 1 betting recap: New York closed as a consensus +105 home underdog and easily cashed both the puckline (+1.5 goals) and reverse puckline (-1.5 goals). The game blew past the consensus 5.5-goal total.
Key stat: The Rangers have won three straight games by the combined score of 17-6. Each of their last seven games and 12 of their last 14 in the playoffs have been decided by multiple goals. Also, four of Tampa’s last five contests (including three in a row) have featured multiple-goal victory margins.
Slap Shots
Lightning: Wednesday’s defeat snapped Tampa Bay’s six-game winning streak. During the streak, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy allowed just seven goals, including four in a five-game stretch from May 14-23. … The Lightning are still 15-6 overall going back to April 14 (6-4 on the road). … Tampa has scored exactly two goals in two straight games, three of the last four and four of the last six. The team has tallied more than four goals just three times in 12 playoff contests. … Vasilevskiy, who entered the Eastern Conference Finals with a scoreless streak of more than 103 minutes, allowed six goals on 34 shots in Game 1. He had given up just three goals on 154 shots in the previous round against Florida. … Veteran C Steven Stamkos scored his team’s first goal and assisted the other. Stamkos is tied with fellow C Ross Colton and LW Ondrej Palat for the team lead in playoff goals, and he has five assists.
Rangers: New York is 5-1 in its last six overall and has won seven straight playoff contests at Madison Square Garden since losing 4-3 in triple-overtime to the Penguins in Game 1 of the opening round. … The home team is 12-3 in Rangers games in the playoffs, including 8-1 in the last nine. … New York has allowed exactly two goals in three straight games. The club has held 11 straight opponents to three goals or fewer since a 7-2 loss at Pittsburgh in Game 4. That includes surrendering two goals or fewer in seven of the last eight. … Igor Shesterkin continues to shine in net. After turning aside 222 of 234 shots in seven games against Carolina, Shesterkin had 37 saves on 39 shots in Game 1. This year’s presumptive Vezina Trophy winner now sports a .940 save percentage in his last 11 games (358 saves on 381 shots). … C Mika Zibanejad and D Adam Fox each had two points in Game 1. Zibanejad (21 points, including 13 assists) and Fox (20 points, 15 assists) rank 3rd and 4th in playoff points and 4th and 3rd in assists.
From the Penalty Box
Tampa Bay went 0-for-3 on the power play Wednesday, while New York converted one of two chances. The Lightning are now 11-for-51 (21.6%) on the power play in the postseason; the Rangers are 14-for-42 (33%, No. 2 in the league).
Tampa Bay has killed 37 of 43 penalties (86.1%); New York has killed 36 of 44 (81.8%).
Betting Nuggets
- TB is 22-9 in its last 31 playoff games as a favorite
- NY is 7-2 in its last nine as a home underdog
- Under for TB is on runs of 5-1 overall, 13-7 on the road and 10-4 as a favorite
- Over is 3-0 in NY’s last three overall (following a 5-0 Under streak)
- Over for NY is also on runs of 6-2 at home and 5-0 as a home underdog
- NY is 6-1 in its last seven against the Lightning (4-0 this year)
- Underdog is 5-1 in the last six series meetings
Lightning vs Rangers Odds and Action
UPDATE 5:50 P.M. ET FRIDAY: A little more than two hours before puck drop at Madison Square Garden, there’s been no change in the Game 2 moneyline price on DraftKings’ Lightning vs Rangers odds board. Tampa Bay remains a -130 road chalk, with New York +110 on the opposite side. There is near-perfect two-way moneyline action, with ticket count running 50-50 and a 51%/49% money split in favor of the Lightning.
The puckline has adjusted slightly from New York (+1.5) -250/Tampa Bay (-1.5) +200 to New York -255/Tampa Bay +205, with tickets (56%) and cash (59%) siding with the visitors -1.5 goals. The total continues to be pinned to 5.5, but with a juice adjustment from Under -115 to Under -125. A majority of DraftKings customers are still backing the Over at 78% tickets and 66% dollars.
UPDATE 11:30 A.M. ET FRIDAY: Game 2 odds are holding steady at DraftKings, with Tampa Bay still a -130 road chalk and the Rangers a +110 home underdog. However, the betting splits have tightened in the last 22 hours. While a modest majority of tickets and money favored New York on Thursday afternoon, the action is now split, with 58% of the wagers on the Rangers and 51% of the cash on the Lightning.
Puckline odds also remain unchanged at New York (+1.5) -250/Tampa Bay (-1.5) +200. The Rangers are seeing 55% of the puckline tickets and 71% of the money. The total also hasn’t budged from DraftKings’ opener of 5.5, with the Under still priced at -115. Most of the action continues to support the Over at 78% bets/71% dollars.
UPDATE 2:30 P.M. ET THURSDAY: DraftKings opened at Tampa Bay -120/New York +100 on its Lightning vs Rangers odds board for Game 2. The moneyline has since risen twice, first to Lightning -130/Rangers +105 and now Lightning -130/Rangers +110. Early action at DraftKings favors the home underdog, as 56% of the wagers and 64% of the dollars are on the Rangers.
The puckline opened and remains at Lightning (-1.5) +200/Rangers (+1.5) -250. Bettors are split to this point, with 60% of the puckline tickets on New York but 69% of the puckline money on Tampa Bay.
As was the case in Game 1, the total opened at 5.5 flat (-110 both ways) and is now sitting at 5.5/Under -115. So far, 84% of the bets and 80% of the cash is on the Over.
Check back prior to puck drop for additional NHL playoff odds and action updates for Game 1 of Lightning vs Rangers.
