NHL 2022 Stanley Cup Game 6 Betting Preview
Avalanche Still in Elimination Spot, but TB Climbing Back
The Stanley Cup Finals are going to go one of two ways following Sunday night’s game. Either Colorado becomes World Champions for the first time since 2001 with a win – or the series shifts back to Denver for an exciting Game 7 and a chance for the Lightning to win their third straight title.
The Stanley Cup Game 6 betting matchup could legitimately go either way. Tampa Bay just picked up a win in Colorado which shows they have momentum coming back home, but the Avalanche also won game 4 at Amalie Arena so they can get a road victory. The odds reflect the coin flip, with the Avs’ -114 and the Lightning -105 on the moneyline.
Avalanche Don’t Want a Game 7
It would have been nice for Colorado to celebrate a Stanley Cup championship at Ball Arena on Friday night, but an Ondrej Palat goal at 13:38 in the 3rd kept the Lightning alive as the Avs’ lead in the series is down to 3-2.
The Avalanche aren’t necessarily in a must win in Stanley Cup game 6 betting, but a game 7 (even back at home) is dangerous against the two time defending champions. All the momentum built up from Nathan Mackinnon scoring his first goal of the Finals in game four and Nazem Kadri returning to the ice with the game winner is deflated a bit as Colorado couldn’t close things out with a 3-1 series lead.
Mackinnon, Kadri, Cale Makar and others have a lot of pressure on them Sunday night but none as match as Darcy Kuemper in net on the road. He stopped 37 of 39 shots at Amalie Arena in game 4, which should at the very least give the Colorado goaltender a shred of confidence.
Vasilevskiy For the Win?
There arguably hasn’t been a more resilient goaltender this postseason than Tampa Bay veteran Andrei Vasilevskiy. He gave up 9 goals total in games 1 and 2 vs. the Rangers last round only to bounce back and allow a total of 5 goals over TB’s next five wins.
Vasilevskiy was on the losing end of a 4-3 (OT) and a 7-0 loss in games 1 and 2 at Ball Arena, but he’s rebounded against a very good offense to allow 7 total scores in the last 3 games of the Finals. Vasilevskiy allowed 5 goals in the two games at home this round, but he also faced 76 shots for a save percentage of .934.
Tampa Bay will once again be without Brayden Point (leg) on Sunday, but some other big names stepped up on Friday night. Palat had his third goal of the series, Nikita Kucherov found the back of the net for the first time in the Finals, while Corey Perry had 2 assists while Viktor Hedman and Steven Stamkos added a helper as well.
Free Stanley Cup Game 6 Betting Pick
It’s somewhat surprising that Colorado is a slight favorite in game 6 after Tampa Bay stole one on Friday and are coming back home. A slight 53% of the public are on the Avalanche but this just looks like a game that the Lightning refuse to lose, forcing a Game 7 that could be one of the more anticipated matchups in history.
Free Pick: Lightning -105
